Sickness of the Heart
by Onemoreparadise
Summary: After a year without Wendy, Peter decided it was time she come back, but her window has been locked, the curtains closed, and a secret hidden behind them. A secret that not only threatened his Wendy, but the safety of Neverland's very own keeper as well.
1. Frustrated

**Sickness of the Heart**

**Summery-** After a year without Wendy, Peter decided it was time she come back, but her window has been locked, the curtains closed, and a secret hidden behind them. A secret that not only threatened his Wendy, but the safety of Neverland's very own keeper as well.

**Disclaimer -** I own nothing except the plot.

**Chapter 1. Frustrated**

"Tell us another Peter Pan story!" John and Michael begged as Wendy lay on her bed in the nursery.

"No, not now." Wendy murmured as she buried her face into her pillow.

It happened the day after Wendy returned from Neverland. At first it seemed like merely homesickness. Her thoughts seemed consumed, almost eaten alive by something that didn't seem to exist. Her classmates called her crazy, her teachers all called her a wild dreamer. At least that was what she had been told

Ever since Wendy came back from Neverland, she had been very cold and distant. She mostly just lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling and dreaming up stories that all involved a certain boy. A boy that now haunted Wendy's every breath, every step, and every thought.

Her hair lay in a messy heap against her pillow that was sweaty from the summer heat. She hardly moved, hardly ate, and her usual dream filled night suddenly became restless eves.

It was no big deal at first glance. Just a silly little girl consumed by a dreamland. Mere imagination in her parents eyes. Soon, hours turned to days, days turned to week, and those weeks turned to a whole year. A child who dreamed for a year straight was no longer a healthy child, especially a child that was supposed to be moving ever so slowly into adulthood.

Every night, for a whole year, she left the window to the nursery open, wishing that he would come back. Her body was ageing; she felt it in her bones. With a sudden overbearing rush she felt regret for leaving.

After a year, he never came. With all hope lost, Wendy dejectedly shut the window one summer night.

That very same night, the window was locked and the curtains where drawn closed, but they were not closed by Wendy's hand.

**oooooooo**

In Neverland, Peter Pan had forbidden the lost boys to talk of mothers or Wendy, but the boys didn't listen to such silly rules. They often spoke of her greatness when Peter wasn't around to stop them. Often when Peter was out hunting they would pretend Wendy still took shelter in the tree with them, following her set rules and sometimes breaking them. It just so happened that Peter was not around that evening.

"If mother where here..." Nibs said to Tootles "She would make you take this medicine!" Nibs was struggling to force a flower full of liquid down Tootles throat. Once he got it in, Tootles made a face and all the boys had a good laugh.

"I wonder if mother misses us." The Twins said together.

"Well I miss mother." Slightly said

"Mother?" Peter yelled as he slid down the slide to their underground home. The boys all exchanged worried looks and turned to Peter.

"So sorry Peter! I shall never speak of mothers again." Slightly bowed before Peter.

"I don't know whom you speak of, or what a mother is." All the boys looked confused. Peter of course had lied. He remembered 'His' Wendy. She was the girl trying to force him to grow up. She was the girl who had forced him to feel something not of his age…

He remembered her well…

For some reason that night, Peter could not sleep. His thoughts revolved around Wendy. He wanted so badly to see her, but he was afraid of what he might see. Maybe she would have a husband? Or what if she forgot all about him? There was only one way to find out. That night he crept silently from the underground home and into the skies of Neverland.

At his speed, it was only a short trip to the Darlings home. He searched around the house to find the nursery window, that's when he saw it. The window was shut and the curtains were drawn closed. He flew to the window and struggled to try and open it. The word of Hook echoed in his mind.

_She'd rather grow up then stay with you!_

What if she really did grow up!

_The window is shut!_

"NO!" Peter yelled into the night

_She can't hear you_

"NO!" Peter yelled louder

_She can't see you_

"WENDY!"

_She's forgotten all about you!_

Peter gathered all his strength and gave a mighty tug at the locked window

_and there's another in your place_

Peter banged his fist against the window

_He's called husband_

"Husband..." Peter whispered to himself and rested his head against the window. "she's forgotten me..." With a shaky breath, Peter stubbornly slammed on the windowpane before fleeing to the comfort of Neverland.


	2. Confused

A/N - Ok sorry it took me awhile.

**Sickness of the heart**

**Chapter 2 - Confusion**

That night, Peter flew back to his underground home in Neverland without anyone even knowing he had left.

_Peter looked around him. The light around him was an odd shade of violent red, dark and foggy. He was Hovering over a large ship that was sailing foreboding black flags, torn up and battered as if they were shown no mercy. The famous Jolly Roger. Below him, people were fighting, and in the crowd of people, stood a lovely little girl. She had lively blue eyes, full of adventure and desire. Her beautiful brown locks bounced softly as she gracefully swung her sword to defend herself against a horrid pirate._

_"She was leaving you Pan!" Peter looked up to see the most feared Pirate in all of Neverland, Captain James Hook. "she would rather grow up than stay with you!"_

_"NO!" Peter yelled and covered his ears. Suddenly the scene changed. Peter was standing in front of Wendy's window. The window was open, so Peter stepped inside as he had done so before. A woman entered the Nursery, Her curly locks bouncing softly just as the lovely girl who fought so bravely amongst pirates. Her eyes were still bright and vivid, although some of the light was gone with age. She was a woman.. _

_"Wendy!" Peter stood right in front of her, but she didn't even blink. "Wendy! Its me Peter pan!" _

_Then a man entered the room and threw his arms around Wendy. He dipped her low and kissed her deeply._

"WENDY!" Peter sat up in bed to find all of the lost boys staring at him.

"You talk really loud in your sleep." Nibs laughed

"I thought you didn't know a 'Wendy'" Slightly leaned further over Peter. Peter turned to face the wall.

"What's wrong?" The twins asked. Peter still remained silent.

"Is it mother?" Nibs said

"Its nothing! Go back to bed!" Peter said and closed his eyes tight. Peter Pan was a stubborn boy. When he decided to end a subject, it was truly over. The boys decided to leave Peter to be stubborn, as they all were as boys trapped forever in youth.

Slightly was still concerned about Peter. He knew something was wrong and he was determined to figure it out. The next night, the boys had no dinner. They hadn't had a real dinner for days now, and they were sick of pretending. They all missed the lovely meals that Wendy used to prepare for them. Nibs poked at his plate and sighed, Tootles stomach growled and, real food or not, Peter didn't even pretend to eat it.

"I'm hungry!" the twins said together.

"Me too! Remember the Berry pie mother made for us that one time!" Tootles said.

"Oh yes, those were delicious!" Nibs said

"When mother comes back, I hope she makes us another one!" Slightly said.

"SHE'S NOT COMING BACK!" Peter stood up and yelled. The boys had a moment of stunned silence, and then Slightly spoke up.

"But she misses us."

"No she forgot all about you!"

"How do you know!" Slightly yelled at Peter

"She locked her window!" The boys looked at each other shocked and then they all turned back to Peter.

"Why would she do that?" Slightly asked.

"I don't know, but last night, while you were sleeping, I went to her house. Her window was locked and she closed the curtains. How do you like your loving mother now? I told you, people who want to grow up are no good!" Peter said and sat back down.

"Peter! You must try again, I know mother didn't forget us!" Nibs said.

"NO!"

"But peter -"

"NO!" The boys decided it would be best not to bother him for fear of being banished.

Once peter was sure all the boys were really asleep, He once again escaped into the night and arrived at the Darling house. This time the curtains were open. Peter smiled to himself and approached the window. He tugged at it to find that it was still stubbornly locked.

"Wendy!" Peter knocked at the window. Suddenly the door to the nursery opened. In stepped a boy with dark brown hair and glasses. His eyes were bloodshot and his cheeks were tear stained. "JOHN! Open the window!" Peter yelled. The boy looked at the window shocked.

"Peter Pan!" Johns mouth hung open. Peter nodded, John ran to unlatch the window, stumbling over his own two feet in the process.

"Where's Wendy? She didn't grow up did she?" John wanted to laugh but he bit his lip in an attempt not to.

"Grow up? No! She's only 13! But..." John turned away from Peter as his eyes filled up with tears. "She's in the hospital..." Peter looked at him very confused.

"What's a ... Hosiple?" Peter asked

"Its a place that you go when your sick."

"WENDY'S SICK?" we must go to the hospikl!" Peter yelled.

"Its Hos-pi-tal, and I can't go, visiting hours are over." John said "but, I can give you the directions."

John told Peter the quickest way he can think to get to the hospital, Peter flew as quickly as he could. The thought of Wendy, Sick and alone in the ... Hopsickle ... He needed to see her.

A/N so how was that chapter? and thanks to all of my other reviewers !


	3. Aggravated

**A/N** wow that took awhile.. but I'm back and I have the next long awaited chapter. Hope you enjoy it and I'll try to be quicker next time. If I don't update for a while I'm not dead, just lazy.

**Sickness of the heart**

**Aggravation**

By the time Peter got to the hospital it was well into the night. 3:15 to be exact. It took him nearly all night to find the place. He got lost twice, had to ask five people for directions, and got more odd stares then he could even count. But worst of all was the fact that he had to walk the whole way, flying was way to risky. The hospital was huge. A dark towering building. Horrible sounds of the sick poured from every window. Finally getting up the nerve to enter, he was faced with the new challenge of finding Wendy in such a huge place. The best bet was to just ask someone.

Asking for help really reminded him why he disappeared to Neverland in the first place…

"Excuse me." Peter approached a neat looking women who sat at a large desk. "Where's Wendy?" The women looked Peter up and don and then gave him yet another strange stare as many adults before him had. Some strange, ragged boy wandering through their town wearing nothing but leaves sewn together into overalls could do that…

"First off lad, Do you know what time it is?" The lady asked. Peter looked utterly confused. In Neverland time wasn't an issue. A whole year can seem like just a day. The whole concept of time still confused him.

"Yes, its night time." Peter said proudly.

"It's 3am, visiting hours are over." the desk lady said. "and secondly, we have a strict dress code. Shirts, pants and shoes are required!" Peters face held a sour expression. It was then that Peter remembered why he loathed adults and their silly rules.

"But I don't have any of that! Please just let me see Wendy!" Peter begged the nurse.

"Listen lad, its very late, so I'll let you spend the night here if you don't hae a proper place to go. I cannot allow you to visit until you have the proper clothes and visiting hours begin at 12 O clock." The desk lady said

"When's that?" Peter asked. The desk lady stood up and pointed to the clock against the wall

"When that small hand gets to the 12." Peter sighed. "you can sleep over there on that cot." The lady pointed to a small hospital bed against the wall. Peter gave up asking and went to lie down. No matter how much he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, his thoughts drifted to Wendy and how alone she must be with no one. Being in this terrible place just reminded Peter of why he left. Everything he hated about this horrible world, But he loved Wendy and would do anything for her. Even stay in the hospital.

Eventually Peter did drift to sleep.

**oooooo**

"Peter Pan! John its Peter!" Peter opened his blurry eyes and was being stared at by a red headed little boy.

"Peter! What happened to you?" John asked. Peter raised his eyebrow

"What do you mean?" Peter raised an eyebrow, wondering why the two boys were staring him up and down, almost like they were giving him an examination.

"Why are you in a hospital bed?"

"Oh I'm not sick, they let me stay here until 12." Peter looked up at the clock. "Wait! its 12 now! Where's Wendy?"

"We're going to see her now!" Michael said

"Come with us, we'll show you her hospital room." John said Peter got up to follow John and Michael, but was stopped by the lady at the desk.

"Hold it lad, you're not getting in dressed like that!"

"You must let me in! I need to see Wendy!" Peter argued

"I'm sorry but rules are rules." Peter stomped his foot and stormed back to the cot.

"Sorry Peter" Michael said

"Come to our house tonight. We might have something for you to wear." John and Michael continued down the hall to Wendy's room. Peter left the hospital and took to the sky to get back to Neverland.

Once he got back to Neverland, Slightly stood outside the underground home waiting for him.

"So?" Slightly said approaching Peter.

"So what?" Peter asked

"So, did you see Wendy?" Peter flinched at her name. Peter turned away from Slightly and hung his head.

"She's in the ... Hopsickle." Peter let a single tear run down his cheek

"What's that?"

"Its where you go when your sick." Slightly gasped as Peter continued. "but they won't let me see her. They said I need to dress right."

"Then dress right and see her! You can't let your stubbornness stop you" Slightly yelled at him. Aside from Peter, Slightly was second in command. He was strong, intelligent, and a good leader. If anyone had Peter's back, Slightly was that boy. There was a long moment of silence between the two headbutting leaders.

"If I get to see Wendy... I'll do it." Peter said. Slightly visibly brightened up.

"Then what are you waiting for? GO!"

Peter remembered John saying something about being able to help him. That night Peter returned to the Nursery window, this time it was fully propped open as if the boys had been expecting a visitor.

"I need your help." Peter said

"Yes I know. I've got just the thing." John ran to the closet and came out holding a black suit up to Peter. "It may be a bit small, but if you really want to see Wendy then it won't matter." Peter smiled knowing John was right. He sat down at the end of what was Wendy's bed, while John opened all the draws looking for cuffs. Peter smothered his face in Wendy's pillows, letting her sweet scent fill his nose.

"Hey John." Peter said "did you tell Wendy about how I tried to visit. I hope she has not forgotten. Has she forgotten me?" John bit his lip

"Well... I don't know."

"But didn't you tell her? What did she say about me?" Peter stood up and began to try on the clothes

"Wendy was, um... asleep." John said.

"Well..." Peter was having great difficulty getting the shirt over his head. "Why didn't you wake her up and tell her?"

"We can't. Nobody can. She won't wake up. The doctors have tried." Peter frowned as he tried to unbutton the pants, knotting up his fingers in the process.

"So, she didn't even know you were there?"

John shook his head.


	4. Anxious

A/N - Yay I finally update. I was a little stuck on this chapter and that's why it took so long. I knew what the chapter was going to be about but couldn't figure out the wording and I rewrote the whole middle section and a whole bunch of other crap that was wrong with it. So with that, enjoy!

**Sickness of the Heart**

"Come on Peter, let us see it!"

"NO!" Peter yelled from behind the closed doors of his room. After picking up the clothes from John, Peter returned to Neverland to tell the lost boys the latest news on Wendy. Once he got there, the boys all insisted that he tried the suit on and show it to them. So now he had just put it on and was refusing to come out for fear of humiliation. Suits were definitely for grown ups…

"Pretty please?" The twins sang together. Peter grumbled from behind the door, Then stepped into the open so the boys could see him. Immediately, they all fell to the floor laughing at him. Peter stuck out his tongue at them, but they didn't seem to notice.

"A bit small, isn't it Peter?" Nibs said while trying to choke back laughter.

"You look 'SO' mature Peter!" Slightly said covering his mouth to try to hide his smile. Peter crossed his arms and stubbornly sat down on his bed. "Sorry Peter." Slightly said. "Looks nice." Peter gave him an awkward smile, then continued pouting.

"What's the point of going to see Wendy if she won't even be awake to know that I'm there?" Peter sighed

"Poor Wendy." The twins said and curled up at Peter side to comfort him. Slightly and Tootles sat down at Peters feet.

"This reminds me of something..." Slightly said

"What?" Curly asked and sat down next to Tootles.

"A story that Wendy told us... I think it was called ... Sleeping beauty." Slightly said

"I remember that one!" Nibs shouted from a chair nearby the bed.

"I haven't heard it. What's it about?" Peter said.

"A princess..." Slightly began to tell the tale. " Falls into a deep sleep from a curse put on her at birth. The only way the beautiful princess could be awoken is by the kiss of her one and only true love." Slightly shrugged, "I guess it had some brutal sword fights after that. I don't remember."

The boys clapped excitedly at the bloody ending of the terrific tale. All of them, except for Peter.

Peter eyes lit up as the grand plan began forming in his head.

"My kiss..." Peter fingered the thimble Wendy had given him in his pocket. "BOYS!" Peter stood up from the bed with his hands proudly on his hips. "I shall give the princess Wendy a kiss! Then she shall return to Neverland with us!" All the boys stood and cheered even louder. They celebrated their grand idea and prepared for her arrival.

The next morning, over pretend breakfast, the boys all talked about Wendy. Loving memories of the past and new ones soon to be made. They hardly even let Peter eat his fake eggs and bacon. Slightly pushed him outside and told him not to come back until he had Wendy with him.

Once again, Peter made his way to the hospital, asked the nurse where her room was. Instead of being told to go away. The nurse happily led Peter to a door with a plaque on it that said 'Wendy Darling'. His hand shook as he truned the doorknob. After many nights of missing her, and worrying about what had become of Wendy Moira Angela Darling…

"Wendy?"

Peter was in shock. For who lay in the bed was certainly not his Wendy. His Wendy had beautifully sun-touched skin. Not the pale, blotchy, sickly skin the Wendy in the bed had. Her used to be Wavy bouncy brown hair was now thin, stringy and dull. Little bead of cold sweat glistened on her forehead. Peter closed his eyes to hold back the tears that were forming in his eyes, but he couldn't help it. His cheeks were soon covered by tearstains.

"Wendy?" He grabbed her cold little hand in his warm one. "Please wake up Wendy." He begged her.

Suddenly the door to the room opened and in stepped John and Michael.

"Peter!" John shouted. "You got in!"

Peter nodded, then slowly looked back at Wendy.

"It's ok Wendy, we're here now." Michael said and took Wendy's other hand. John watched as Peter tried to hide the tears. He truly did feel sorry for him. He knew Peter really loved his sister. He thought it must be very hard for Peter to see Wendy like this.

"How's Neverland? Any great new adventures?" John asked to try to get Peter's attention away from Wendy. But Peter did not notice. He was not in the mood for stories or triumphant tales. For a very long time they sat there. Not a word was spoken between any of them.

"How does 'sleeping beauty' really end?" Peter finally asked to break the silence.

"Her prince came for her. He kissed her. Then they all live happily ever after." Usually, Peter hated any story that didn't have blood, fighting, or pirates, but for once Peter was satisfied with happily ever after.

"John! We gotta go!" Michael yelled to him as he looked up at the wall clock.

"Oh, I've lost track of time. Sorry Peter but we must leave, we won't be coming tomorrow because of school, but you come and look after our Wendy." John said and they both left.

Peter began fingering the thimble again in his pocket. Then his attention turned to Wendy's neck. Which no longer held the kiss Peter had given to her. A nurse walked into the room and began wiping the cold sweat off of Wendy's brow.

"Where is my kiss?" Peter asked her and then looked to Wendy.

"Excuse me?" She questioned back.

"It was on her neck, now it's gone."

"Oh you mean the acorn necklace?" The nurse gave Peter a quizzical look "It's in the drawer." She pointed to a small desk with one drawer on it, then left with her bucket of water to tend to other patients.

Peter went over to the drawer and got the 'kiss'. He reached his hands behind Wendy's neck to secure it tightly around her neck. He backed away to admire his work.

"Nothings happening..." Peter sighed. He thought his plan was fool proof. Oh how upset the boys would be if Peter were to return without Wendy. So he decided it was best if he didn't go back to Neverland.

Instead, he walked the streets of the neighborhood to think. Slightly said that it would take the kiss of her true love to wake Wendy up. Maybe because she didn't wake up, that meant Peter was not her true love? But he wanted to be. He had never wanted anything in the whole world more then he wanted to be Wendy's fairytale prince. The Charming to her Sleeping beauty.

Finally Peter came to a familiar place. Kensington Gardens. The place where many years ago, Peter left the real world for good to become what he is now. It seemed like almost Peter's second home, it was very comforting to be there. He sat on a park bench and blissfully looked up at the sun setting behind the brick buildings. Behind him Peter heard a small jingle of bells that he instantly recognized.

"Tinkerbell?" he whispered. Tinkerbell flew out from behind a leaf. "What are you doing here?"

"Someone needs to watch after you." She said. "Now lets go back, it's getting late." Tinkerbell readied herself to fly, but Peter shook his head no.

"No, I can't go back. Not without Wendy, but I don't know what to do. I gave her a kiss back but she still didn't wake up. Sleeping beauty is wrong."

"The acorn?" Tinkerbell asked. "That's not a kiss!" She laughed at him. Peter looked at her very confused. "On Hooks ship, when Wendy pressed her lips to yours. That was a kiss, it shows love,"

"But Wendy called it a thimble?" He did remember John saying that was no thimble. He still truly didn't understand what had happened to him that day on the ship. It felt like magic. A sort of magic that could empower someone to be able to do anything. It made him feel as if he could run circles around the world fifty times and more! Maybe if he were to give Wendy a real kiss, she might feel the same way.

Tinkerbell begrudgingly agreed to let Peter stay at Kensington Gardens to avoid the boys interrogations. They stayed in the safety of Kensington Gardens all night, Tinkerbell resting soundly on a leaf, and Peter in a restless haze. The next day Tinkerbell headed back to Neverland while Peter went back to the Hospital alone.

At the hospital, Peter sat on the bed very close to Wendy. He tangled his warm fingers with her cold ones. Slowly, he lowered his face in front of hers. Inches from Wendy's face, he could feel her cold breath moistening his lips. He lowered his face the rest of the way, so their lips were tightly pressed together. Suddenly, from under him, Wendy's body jumped. It was as if a bolt of lightning had raced through Wendy's veins!

Peter kept his lips tightly pressed to hers. Like the same magic Peter felt, Wendy's body seared with heat. Her cold lips became moist and warm. Peter backed away in surprise when something grabbed his hand. Wendy's eyes fluttered open

"Peter ... Pan? ..."


	5. Worried

**A/N- This is gonna be a long one...**

Ok everyone, I'm so sorry about making you wait so long. Things have happened that have prevented me from writing. first off, I lost the notebook in which I write all on my stories. without it, I had no clue what the chapters I was writing were about or the titles. Luckily I found it just yesterday under my bed XD

Then there is school. Grrr. I just started High school as a freshman and the work is really overwhelming. Since I'm in mostly Honors classes and Regents, Its a lot harder.

then there's my Social and Family life. My family life is far from perfect and there have been a ton of personal problems going on. Being just a teenager, my mom said I don't have to deal with it but, It is my family and I do care so I of course got involved.

I really felt like putting the story on Hiatus until I got everything sorted out. but The word Hiatus usually means that the people don't come back to it. Or at least that what most people do.

So once again, I'm really sorry and I'm trying to write a little everyday. Just try to be patient with me. I'll try to write during all my free times in school.

and for being gone for so long, Here is a nice long chapter.

Ok and with that... I own nothing, Except the plot... THATS MINE!

**Chapter 5- Worry**

"Wendy."

It was all Peter could say. "My Wendy." he said over and over as he had his arms tightly wrapped around her. Wendy weakly wrapped her arms around him. They pulled away and Wendy fell back onto her pillow. Sun spilled into the small hospital room, Once again, Wendy's skin was a beautiful soft pink. Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at Peter adoringly with a weak smile.

"Peter... I-I-" Wendy tried to talk, but every word sounded as if it were a struggle to say. "I just thought you ... forgot me." Fresh tears sprung to Wendy's eyes. Peter quickly wiped them away.

"No Wendy! Never!" Peter rubbed her hand reassuringly. "I would never forget you!"

"But you didn't come back for so long..." Wendy took a deep difficult breath

"What about the window?" Peter asked her. Wendy raised her eyebrow.

"What about it?" She asked.

"It was closed, I tried to open it but... it was locked." Wendy looked truly confused about the whole thing.

"I closed it..." She confessed "I had to close it...there was a terrible draft, but I never locked it."

Wendy rubbed at her throat, feeling a raspy sting. She felt as if she hadn't talked this much in ages. Suddenly her body gave a jerk and she went into a horrible coughing fit. Peter soothingly rubbed her back and let Wendy lean up against him until it was over. Then there was a long silent moment while Wendy recovered.

"Wendy?" Peter said finally breaking the silence. "How did you get so sick?"

Wendy thought back for a second.

"Truth is..." Wendy started off slowly " I don't really know. Ever since I left Neverland... I haven't really been myself."

Peter was glad Wendy was awake but she still didn't look so good.

Wendy put one hand on Peter's shoulder and the other on the bed post. Carefully, she pushed herself up into a standing position. Instantly, her legs collapsed from underneath her as she began to fall forward. Peter rushed to her side and snatched her up before she could hit the floor. Wendy's breathing came in heavy, rapid intervals as she went into another coughing fit. Peter sat with her on the floor until the coughing passed on. The second it stopped, Peter scooped her up and brought her back to bed.

"You know Wendy..." Peter said " Maybe the reason you're sick is because you need Neverland." Wendy took a sip of water while considering what Peter had said.

"Maybe... but that's illogical. Childish even-"

"Come with me Wendy!" Peter grabbed her hand to interrupt her, but Wendy pulled it back.

"Peter I'm sorry but...I can't."

"But... why not?" Peter looked truly heart broken. " You said you haven't been yourself since you left!"

"Yes but I can't just disappear... again." Wendy took a deep breath "I can't put my parents through that."

Peter was disappointed. He didn't understand why Wendy would want to choose her parent over him. Just then, an announcement for the end of visiting hours rang throughout the hospital halls. Peter got up to leave but Wendy tugged at his arms.

"Peter. Promise me you will come back tomorrow." Wendy begged.

"Of course I will, the second the Hopsaple opens!" Wendy smiled at Peter's mispronunciation.

"You truly are a clever boy Peter Pan."

Peter gave her a cocky smile and left.

**oooooooooo**

That night at Peters underground home, there was wild partying and the most delicious fake feast anyone could imagine.

"Our Wendy's awake!" Nibs and the twins shouted.

'Mother didn't forget us after all!" Slightly yelled

"I knew it all along!" Peter said in a very cocky voice.

"Yeah right! LIAR!" The boys yelled at him

That night was the happiest night of their lives.

**oooooooooo**

The next day, Peter kept his promise to Wendy and returned to the hospital. John and Michael were there as well and both were ecstatic to see their sister finally awake. After awhile, they both left the room in search of something to eat, and possible snacks to sneak to their sister. When they returned back to the room, they ran in frantically yelling;

"Our parents are here! Peter must get out!" John and Michael fled from the scene, but Peter didn't budge an inch.

"Peter, You must go!" Wendy shouted at him.

"Why?" Peter asked. Wendy didn't have time to explain. She stood up using all her strength and pushed Peter out the door saying

"You can come back once they're gone!" It seemed like Peter had just left when Mary and George stepped through the door.

"Wendy dear! You shouldn't be out of bed in your condition." Mary carefully lead her daughter back to bed and began to dab her face with a towel. Her expression, soft and calm, made Wendy feel at ease to have her mother around. On the other hand, George darlings face was cold and hard, and he kept throwing Wendy disapproving looks.

"Thank you mother." Wendy whispered.

"Darling, why didn't you tell us you were sick?" Mary asked her daughter.

"Well, It didn't really feel like a stomach ache or a cold... I felt like I was missing something, or someone, ever since 'the night' , I guess I made myself sick with sadness." Mary comforted Wendy as she confessed everything. Then George stepped in,

"Well you acted very irresponsibly! You should have taken responsibility for your own health instead of mopping around the bloody house!" George yelled while hovering over her.

"George, please!" Mary begged while trying to cover Wendy's ears, but she heard everything.

"Father! It's not my fault, please!" Wendy defended herself.

"You should have told someone about your health before you go and pass out right in front of my boss!" George wagged his finger at her.

"I-I- Don't remember any of that..." Wendy whispered.

"Well then, " George said "Let me refresh your memory. A very important dinner party and me small talking with my boss. So what happens you ask? I introduce him to you and what do you do? You pass out right in the arms of my boss! Spilling his wine all over his thousand-dollar suit! You could have cost me my job!"

"George! Wendy didn't mean it!" Mary tried to calm him down.

"Father, I was afraid to tell you ! Even if I did, you wouldn't understand!" Tears flowed freely from Wendy's eyes as she tried to reason with her father. Mary dabbed at her daughter's eyes and rubbed her back.

"George, could you leave me and Wendy alone for a second." George obeyed his Wives orders and left in a huff. The two sat there for a second as Mary calmed Wendy down.

"Shhh... It's Ok darling... He didn't mean it..." Wendy wept on her mothers shoulder.

"I'm sorry... I really am... I'm sorry I disappointed father." Wendy sobbed.

"It's Ok, I'm here for you dear. If there is something you want to talk with me about." Mary hugged her daughter one last time before tucking her in and promising to come back next time without her father.

After her mother left, Wendy continued to cry. Peter came into the room looking directly into Wendy's eyes.

"I heard everything." Peter said and ran to his Wendy. They embraced each other and Peter just let Wendy cry on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I made you leave..." Wendy said through muffled sobs. "I can't let them know about you or Neverland... So many things I'm hiding from them... They can't ever find out about you..." Peter just nodded his head in agreement. For the rest of the day, Peter comforted Wendy.

**ooooooooooooo**

Wendy enjoyed Peters company. He came everyday and they sat, talked, and laughed. Every time Mary Darling would come, Peter would quickly run out of the room and hide until she left, George never came up to visit his daughter anymore, since it put to much stress on Wendy. Wendy had her good and bad days. Sometimes she felt so good she would open the window for some air or walk circles around the room.

One day she was feeling so good, Her and Peter sat on the front stoop of the hospital for a few minutes. Then there were her bad days. Day were all she could do was lay in bed and talk with Peter. Most of the time she couldn't make it through the day without at least two or three coughing fits. She seemed to have more bad days then good, But Peter stayed with her, no matter what happened.

This was the way Wendy's life went for two months.

**oooooooooooooo**

One day, Peter entered that horrible hospital just like any other day and knocked on Wendy's hospital door. After standing there for a few minutes without an answer, he decided to let himself in.

"Wendy?" He whispered into the dark room. But Wendy was no where to be seen... The room was empty.

SHE WAS GONE! ...


	6. Shocked

A/N - I sort of used a new style when writing this chapter (or at least I tried XD) I added a lot more small details then I did in my last few chapters, so I hope you like the way I wrote this chapter.

Here is another long chapter, I got so into it I couldn't stop writing.

See? I didn't forget about my lovely readers.

**Sickness of the Heart**

**Chapter 6 - Shock**

Peter ran throughout the darkened Hospital room, looking under the bed and pulling out shelves, even though he knew Wendy could not possibly fit under such small places. Just yesterday, Wendy had another one of her bad days. She had a great deal of chest pain and was bedridden all day. Peter had been so worried about Wendy all day. Then something struck him.

"Oh no... What if she ..." Peter shook his head and tried to push that horrible thought out of his mind. As hard as he tried, it kept resurfacing itself.

Peter's eyes grew moist with tears. He tried to hold them back, but soon they flowed freely down his face. He felt himself sink down to the cold floor. He drew his legs to his chest and hugged them tight.

"It's all my fault." He said to himself "If only I didn't listen to Wendy and made her come to Neverland with me." He rested his head against his knee and watched as his tears hit the floor, creating a small puddle on the floor in front of him.

Peter's head snapped up when he heard someone enter the room and the lights flickered on. It was Wendy's nurse.

"Why are you crying?" The nurse flitted to Peter's side. She seemed to have a natural instinct that told her when to jump to a persons aid.

"Wendy is gone...It's all my fault that she died." Peter let more tears stream down his face, but the nurse still looked very confused.

"Died? Boy Wendy never died!" She said while leaning down to comfort the crying child. Peter felt a gentle hand touch his shoulder.

"She didn't? Then where is she?"

"Wendy was sent home so she can be with her family." The nurse passed Peter a handkerchief to clean his face. Peter smiled at the nurse's kindness. Never before had he met an adult who displayed such a trait.

"Thank you." He said.

"Now you go and clean yourself up and go see your lady."

"I will." Peter nodded. Before he left the hospital he stopped in the washroom to clean his tear stained cheeks with some cold water.

As soon as he was done at the hospital, Peter made his way over to Wendy's nursery window as he was so used to doing.

The window was shut, but thankfully, Peter gave it a light tug and the window popped open with ease. Peter looked around Wendy's side of her shared nursery. Everything on her side seemed to be a different shade of pink. Including the large pink frilled canopy bed where Peter spotted Wendy sleeping. Peter cringed at that color, being that he was a boy.

He tiptoed over to her side of the bad. Wendy's face was very pale and her hair was very wet and stringy. Tiny beads of sweat hung on her forehead, every now and then, one slipped and landed on her light pink pillow delicately.

Peter leaned over and placed a light kiss on her hot, feverish forehead. She opened her eyes quickly, but shut them again as the world around her seemed to spin.

"Peter?" Wendy said finally opening her eyes. Peter couldn't help but rise a few feet off the ground at the site of her. Wendy giggled lightly, but stopped because of her swollen throat that burned and ached with every giggle.

"Why did they decide to send you home Wendy?" Peter asked and sat down at the edge of Wendy's cozy bed.

Wendy appeared to be very uneasy about the question. She bit her bottom lip as if thinking really hard about something. Then she pushed her oversized pink quilt out of the way and crawled over to sit next to Peter.

"Promise me you won't get upset Peter..." Wendy looked up into Peter's eyes as she awaited his answer.

"I promise." Peter replied proudly.

Wendy's throat burned. It even hurt to breath, but maybe that was caused by the horrid chest pains she had been having. On top of that, she felt dizzy and feverish.

She scooted closer to Peter and rested her hand on his lap.

"Peter... the doctors said that... they don't know what's wrong with me, which means they can't cure it. But whatever it is, they say its not good and could even eventually end up ...Killing me..." Wendy put her head down. Peter saw a tear land on her night gown and sink into its delicate threads.

"No..." Peter shook his head in disbelief. He felt hot tears well up in his eyes as well. Wendy choked back her own tears and continued.

"They sent me home because they wanted me to spend the rest of my time with my family..." Her eyes were slowly becoming bloodshot under the weight of her confession.

_'No! not my Wendy...'_ Peter thought _"If she dies she'll be gone forever! She can't die! I WON'T LET HER!'_

"NO!" Peter shouted out. "NO! Wendy! It's not going to happen!" Peter shook with rage. Peter stood up in a defensive stance in front of Wendy. Wendy stood up and reached out her hand to touch Peter, but he quickly backed away.

"Peter please... I know this is horrid news, but you promised not to get upset!"

"You're not going to die Wendy! I won't let you!" Peter yelled out hysterically.

"You're acting childish! You can't stop death! This is serious Peter and I need you to be there for me!"

Peter, not being able to control himself, ran to the open window and took to the skies without so much as a second look back.

All night, Wendy thought of nothing else but Peter as she tried to drift into a restless slumber. The look on his face hurt her more then having to tell him the horrible news.

Wendy had to admit, she was scared. Death is never a friendly word, especially when you have to tell that kind of news to a young and confused boy who hardly understood that whole concept. All Peter knew was that death means forever... and forever was an awfully long time.

Wendy needed help, She needed someone to talk to. Someone who can make her see that everything was going to be all right. Wendy stood up from her bed and walked across the hall to her mother's room.

"Mother..." Wendy said rather hoarsely. Her throat still burned pretty badly.

"Yes darling?" Wendy's mother said. Mary darling sat at her vanity table in her nightgown. Wendy could clearly tell that her mother had been crying.

Out of her whole family, Mrs. Darling seemed to be taking it the best. Wendy's brothers locked themselves in the guest bedroom to cry. She guessed they didn't want to sleep in the nursery with Wendy since it gave them an uncomfortable feeling knowing one day Wendy may never be there. George Darling walked around the house on eggshells. He was constantly apologizing to Wendy for the day he yelled at her in the hospital and sometimes even breaking out into tears.

Wendy entered her mother's room and sat on the edge of her parent's bed.

"I need to tell you something..." Wendy said in a dream like voice. Even though her voice was hoarse with sickness, she somehow still managed to sound whimsical and melodic. Mrs. Darling sat down on the edge of the bed next to her daughter.

"You can tell me anything Dear." Wendy bit her lip not knowing how to start.

"Well, I don't know how to tell you without sounding positively mad..."

"Take your time Wendy." Mary said. Wendy took a deep breath before beginning.

" Do you remember the night that me and the boys ... disappeared.?" Wendy asked.

"Yes." Wendy took another deep breath, trying to think of how to tell her mother.

"...Well... do you remember when I was younger and you used to tell me Peter Pan stories?"

"Yes." Now Wendy just had to come out and say it. She opened her mouth to say something but then just shut it again to contemplate her words harder.

"Mother... I know you'll think I'm crazy when I say this but, when we disappeared ... Peter came for us. He took us all to Neverland, but I wanted to come home, so he brought me back." Wendy just blurted it all out before she had time to chicken out again. Surprisingly, her mother said nothing.

Instead, she got up calmly and walked over to her dresser. She pulled out the bottom compartment and took out what looked like a jewelry box. It was satin blue and was carefully embroidered with silver roses.

"Can I show you something?" Mary asked her daughter. Wendy nodded. Mary opened the jewelry box and a soothing melody flowed out of the musical contraption. Mary took out something shiny and gold, holding it just so that Wendy could see.

"Do you know what this is?" Mary asked. Wendy looked closer at the gold coin her mother showed her. Engraved in the middle was a cross bone pattern.

"Pirate gold!" Wendy shouted. Mary flipped over the coin to the other side. It looked like a hook shape had been aggressively carved into the other side.

"Captain Hook!" Wendy shouted out again in plain disbelief. "Mother, did you go to Neverland?"

"Yes, a very long time ago. He came for me too when I was a little girl, but I too wanted to come back and have my own children so I could pass on his story."

"Well then, you may understand me when I say I want to go back." Wendy blurted out "I need Peter, and I think he needs me too." Wendy's mother nodded in agreement. Then she reached into the jewelry box and pulled something else out. She put it into Wendy's open hand.

Wendy opened her hand to see a ring, Her mothers Wedding ring. A beautiful perfectly cut diamond with a gold frame. The diamond shimmered as Wendy held it up to her mothers table lamp.

"Keep it." Mary said, "if you feel Neverland is your place, then I cannot stop you. This world is not for everyone."

"But you understand... that if I leave you will probably never see me again, right?" Wendy's mother nodded.

"I understand, I just want you to be happy, and I know how Peter can be quite the little charmer." Mary said while nudging her daughter. Wendy laughed with her mother knowing just how true she was.

"I'm going to bed then. I have some things to think about." Wendy stood from her mother's bed, embracing her tightly before heading back to her own lonely nursery.

"Good night dear."

Later that night, when Mr. Darling came home from work, Mary was sitting at her vanity table staring with unfocused eyes at her reflection in the mirror. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched George get undressed.

"George?" She said quietly.

"Yes dear?" He replied.

"About Wendy..." Mary noticed upon mention of her, George visibly paled. "She told me she was leaving. Going to Neverland with Peter Pan." At that, George grew red and angry with rage.

"What did I tell you about filling that girls head with such nonsense? She was probably delirious when she said it!" George yelled, but Mary remained calm and close-minded about the subject.

"Whether you believe it or not, I'm letting her go. Once she goes... She will probably never come back. She won't be able to Handle the pressures of Neverland and our world. We won't ever know what has become of our Wendy, whether she lives or dies, but if you want her to have even the smallest chance of living, you would let her go too."

"This is exactly the kind of nonsense I tried to keep out when I locked the nursery window."


	7. Distressed

A/N - After I spent all week writing and re-writing this chapter, I finally got it the way that I wanted After I went to a creative writing workshop at my school, which helped a lot! I think so far, this has got to be my favorite chapter. Its very long and descriptive so I hope that you like it too!

And now, to answer to my reviews.

**BloodDrownedRose ** - Thank you. I actually went to a creative writing meeting at my school this week and they told me a bunch of things that I put into my story. Don't worry about Peter, He's just shaken up right now.

**tinkerflyinbell1 ** - Yes I know, I was crying while I wrote it. Poor Wendy!

**mabfairy - **Yes I know it was sad. Poor Peter doesn't now how to deal with what Wendy told him.

**Eva Sumpter - **Hehe, Thank you .

**LeMoNsOuR - **It killed me to write that about Wendy, But sadly, it is true :( I hope you update your Holes story soon! I'm dyeing here!

**GerryLover15 - **I've noticed the detail in your writing too . Its getting good! You need to update your **story!**

**OfficiallyObsessedwithPyro - **Me neither :(

on with the story!

**Sickness of the Heart**

**Chapter 7 - Distressed**

----

_"Peter?" _

_Wendy called out softly. She didn't know how but she was suddenly standing in the middle of a lush green forest. The way the sun peaked in through the beautiful foliage, gave the land a unique lighting effect. The sun hit the leaves of a palm tree and made Wendy's pure white night gown appear as if it were a light leafy green. Birds in the nearby trees hummed beautiful music that seemed to reflect Wendy's bright and cheerful mood. She knew right away that she was in the safety of Neverland. In Neverland, Wendy felt no more pain, her troubles slowly slipped from her._  
_"Peter?" Wendy called out again, but a little louder._

_"Wendy!" She heard a familiar voice call back to her, but she didn't know where it came from._

_"Peter ... Where are you?" Wendy called out, wildly looking around for the owner of the voice._

_"I'm over here!" He yelled. Wendy still looked confused._

_"Over where?" She yelled back._

_"HERE!" All of a sudden, Peter was hanging upside down, right in front of Wendy's face. She let out a small surprised gasp, then looked back at Peter. He was hanging upside down from a tree branch right in front of Wendy's face. His legs were wrapped tightly around the branch so that he could cross his arms over his chest. When Peter looked at Wendy, his wonderful blue eyes shined and sparkled like nothing Wendy had ever seen. The smile on her face grew larger and larger with each passing second. Then , all of a sudden it faded._

_"Peter? why am I here?" She asked him. Now Peters own smile grew even larger then Wendy's._

_"Don't you want to be here?" He asked._

_"I do but ... My family .." Wendy sighed._

_"Well then ... Let's just have one last adventure! Follow me!" He jumped down lightly from the tree branch and took Wendy's hand in his. _

_He didn't fly, but instead ran down the weather beaten , unkept wilderness path. They ran hand in hand for quiet awhile. Soon it felt as if they were running uphill. Peter didn't slow down, he kept at a constant pace, causing Wendy to stumble over loose branches quite a few times._

_Finally, Peter stopped in front of a bunched up group of tropical plants. He slowly bent the plants backwards and stepped out of the way so that Wendy could enter first. She stepped through the narrow, leafy passage and was immediately hit by the glare of the setting sun._

_"Wow..." Was all that could escape Wendy's lips when she looked upon the sight that lay before her. Peter came up next to Wendy and took her tiny hand in his._

_"They stood on the highest point in all of Neverland, right at eye level with the wonderful setting sun. Wendy crept over the edge of the peak. Swaying island foliage surrounded them and ran down the steep drop to the bottom, which was the sandy beach of Neverland. The sky was already beginning to turn a yellowish pink, reflecting in it, all of Neverland. The clouds surrounding the peak caused the air to be moist but comfortable._

_"Peter... It's beautiful but , I really don't know if I should stay here..." Wendy turned to him. Peter stood there, still admiring the sight before him. He seemed to not even hear Wendy. Wendy looked right into his glistening eyes, but he still looked off into the sunset._

'I want to stay but ...I really don't know what to do...' _Wendy thought _' My mom told me to do whatever feels right but... I don't know what feels right anymore... I need more time! Time that I don't have!"

_Wendy slowly untangled her hand from his and began to slowly back away. She slowly put one foot behind the other._

_Then , in a split second, Wendy's foot caught on a loose branch, hidden under multiple leaves. She tried all she could to get into a standing position but failed, and was falling fast off the edge of the steep cliff._

_"PETER!" She yelled out in fear. Peter snapped out of his dreamlike state to finally realize what was happening. Wendy let out a loud long scream of panic as she felt the spine tingling sensation of free falling. She closed her eyes tightly and prepared herself for a most gruesome end. But the second Wendy thought it was the end, she felt a warm body grab her around the waist._

_"Wendy? are you ok?" The voice that was holding her asked. Wendy opened her eyes and look up at Peter Pans distressed face._

_"I'm fine..." She turned herself in Peters arms so that she could bury her face in Peters shoulder. Peter held Wendy tightly in his arms and swooped through the air toward the sea. Peter held Wendy around her waist and let her toes skim over the water, leaving a tiny trail of bubbles behind. Wendy looked down into the water and saw a tiny group of sea creatures following her trail. Soon she forgot all about the fact that Peter was holding her._

_"Wendy?" Peter asked. Wendy nodded weakly to let Peter know that she was listening. " Why didn't you just fly?" Wendy blushed and looked back down into the crystal clear water._

_"I... I forgot how to fly..." She blushed deeply once again._

_"It's easy! just think of a happy thought! remember?" Wendy nodded. She did remember how to fly, but deep down in her heart, she knew that she couldn't. She couldn't think of a happy thought no matter how hard she tried. Everything was so much more confusing then before._

_"Ready Wendy?" She heard Peter shout. Wendy started shaking her head rapidly._

_"NO PETER!" She yelled out._

_Then... he let go, and Wendy plunged into the icy cold waters._

_----_

"NO!" Wendy sat up fast. She let the world spin around her before she finally realized where she was. The safety and comfort of her own bed. Her pink canopy was drawn closed for her privacy. She pulled back the fabric and let the morning sun hit her pale face. Her pink quilt was tangled roughly around her legs, showing signs of a struggle. Her body was drenched in a cold sweat, causing her night gown to cling uncomfortably to her.

"Just a dream ..." Wendy whispered to herself as she stared off into the glare of the sun. A knock on the nursery door brought Wendy back to life.

"come in..." Wendy said in a raspy voice. Mary Darling stepped into the room from behind the door. She smiled sweetly and sat on the edge of Wendy's bed.

"How are you feeling?" Mrs. Darling put her hand on Wendy's forehead.

"A lot better then yesterday." Wendy replied. She was still a bit shaken from the dream, but her stomach had settled itself and her head pains had become weaker. Unfortunately, her throat pains were still there, making it hard for her to speak very loudly.

"If your feeling a bit better, how about you come down and have breakfast with us?" Her mother asked. Wendy's smile grew a mile long. ever since she had come home from the hospital, she had been to sick to go down to eat with the family. All of her meals were served in bed, which got rather lonely. All she longed for was that life would go back to normal, but she knew it never would. So she hung on tightly to any drop of normalcy she could.

"Really mother!" Wendy yelled out excitedly.

"Yes and after breakfast, your father thought it would be best if you return to your lessons." She said as if she were breaking bad news to her daughter. Wendy scrunched up her nose in disgust, but then her and her mom laughed together. She was glad to finally be going back to something normal.

"You get ready and come on down to breakfast." Her mother said before she got up and left Wendy to get ready.

Once her mom left, she reached down to her feet and untangled herself from her blankets. She jumped out of bed, feeling unusually happy, and went over to her dresser. She took out one of her favorite dresses. A velvet red ball gown with ruffled flowing sleeves. The gown sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight from the random pieces of silver that were sewn into the dress. Wendy knew the second her Aunt saw it, she would see Wendy as the most beautiful girl in all of England.

She quickly combed through her naturally curly hair and put it up into a fancy little bun, leaving a few strands hanging out. She took out her jewelry box and took out two beautiful pearl earrings her mother gave her long ago and stuck them into her ears. The finishing touches were a pair of ruby red slippers that Wendy got before she had fallen ill from a small shop in town.

Once she was ready, She straightened herself up and gracefully walked down to the dinning room, letting her velvet gown flow behind her. Her whole family was already at the table, including Aunt Millicent.

"You look stunning." Her mother said.

"Simply charming!" Her Aunt said. Wendy walked over to the table and sat in between her mother and her brother John.

"Thank you! I knew you would all just love it." Wendy said.

Soon, they all began to eat. There was hot, sweet tea with honey and milk, cinnamon buns smothered in icing and fresh orange peels along with various other fruits. Wendy ate a lot more then any proper lady should, but she didn't really care. Once everyone was done, their plates were pushed aside and everyone began to talk. Except Wendy, she just sat there, enjoying her family and a rare moment of normalcy in her life. Then her mother spoke to her.

"Wendy?" She asked "What's on your mind?" Wendy shook her head to clear all of her previous thoughts away before speaking.

" Oh... It was just a dream I had last night." She said. Her brother Michael loved to hear about her dreams. They were always filled with adventure. So he pressed on the subject.

"What was it about? Was it about Peter Pan?" Michael bounced in his seat. John quickly slapped his hand over his brothers mouth.

"You know not to speak of him in front of Dad!" John whispered to him. At the name Peter Pan, George visibly grew red with anger. Millicent also stated her own complaints on the matter.

"Actually ... It was!" Wendy yelled out loudly over her family. She no longer felt the need to hide it, she already told her mother, why not tell the rest of her family?

"I was in Neverland and I had to make a very important decision... Stay in Neverland forever with Peter Pan ...or ... leave Neverland and stay forever with my family, but I didn't know what to do because... I really don't know which one feels right."

"POPPYCOCK!" George yelled out and slammed his fist on the table. Wendy bowed her head in defeat. She really hoped her father would understand, but clearly, he didn't.

"It felt so real..." Wendy whispered so only her mother could hear. Her mother reached over and took her daughter in her arms.

"I know...: Mary whispered to her. George didn't seem to hear either of them.

"I think it would be best to send Wendy far away for awhile!" George yelled. Wendy looked up quickly at her father.

"NO! father why?" Wendy snapped back at him.

"It's this whole Peter Pan thing! When are you ever going to just grow up! What you need is to get away." He answered.

"I think I know the solution!" Millicent spoke up over all of the commotion. " There is a hospital that is just for young girls , westward hospital for girls, They will look after Wendy as well as help her to become a proper young women!"

"NO! I can't leave, Peter will never be able to find me there!" Wendy stood up and yelled. Her throat seared with pain, and her head pounded against her skull.

"Exactly my plan!" George told her. Wendy stood there looking into the cold eyes of her father. She felt her own eyes fill with tears, then felt a wet tear roll down her cheek. That's when she realized it, this didn't feel right. All this time her mother had told her to do whatever felt right, and she didn't know what 'right ' was. But know she knew that whatever she was feeling now, wasn't the way she wanted to feel for the remainder of her life.

"I'm not going! I don't want to be hear anymore! I want Peter to come back and I'm going to Neverland!" Wendy screamed out across the table. Wendy started to run up the stairs even though her Aunt and father tried to stop her. "... And I'm not going to lessons today! Damn being Proper! Damn it all!" Wendy yelled before she slammed the door to her room.

The second Wendy entered the safety of her nursery, she flopped down on her bed and let her tears freely flow from her eyes. Her body shook with anger toward her Aunt and Father.

"What if he doesn't come back for me?" Wendy asked herself. Wendy looked over to her large nursery window to see the bright blue sky suddenly turn a dark grey, and in no time, rain began to fall from the sky and pound at her window. Wendy sighed and buried her face in her pillow.

"All I want is to go back to Neverland, and I promise, I will stay there ... Forever." She whispered into her pillow before falling to sleep.

Wendy slept all through the morning and into the night. Her mother made sure that no one went into the room to bother her. Her mother came into the room a few times to check on her and eventually closed the curtains to her canopy bed. Outside, the rain was still coming down pretty hard. Sometimes the rain came down so hard that it would wake Wendy for only a second before she fell back to sleep.

Wendy lay in her canopy bed, with the curtains drawn closed when she was once again awoken by a loud bang on the window at about 11pm. Thinking it was just the rain, she went right back to sleep. A few minutes later, she was awoken again by a loud creak of a floor board over by her window. She sat up in bed and saw a shadow of a rather large, full figured man by her window.

Cautiously, she untied the curtains of her canopy to see the true identity of this person. Standing by the window with his hands tightly over the lock, was Mr. Darling himself!

"Father! What are you doing?" Wendy called out. Mr. Darling jumped, not expecting her to be awake.

"I...I was...just..." He stumbled over his words.

"You were locking my window weren't you!" Wendy accused. "It's been you who has kept Peter from getting to me! Why?" Wendy got out of bed and almost tripped over her own feet. Her father looked around nervously.

"I was only trying to protect you!"

"From what!" I don't need it!" Wendy yelled and ran for the window. She grabbed the lock and began to pull at it, but no luck. She was too weak to undo the lock. She banged her fist on the window in frustration, but she was even too weak to break the glass.

"Open the window!" She commanded.

"You'll thank me someday." He said and turned to leave the room.

"Why are you trying so hard to keep him from me!" Wendy yelled to her father, but he didn't seem to hear. Wendy stood by the window, breathing heavily and clutching her chest. She turned back to the window and saw a damp skeleton leaf, that looked like it belonged to Peter, float past her window.

She quickly ran over to her dresser and pulled out a tan raincoat and hat. She rushed out of her room, Throwing on her coat and hat over her long red ball gown as she hopped down the stairs. She unlocked her front door and ran out of her house and into the cold street.

The weather was dreadful. The rain came down in bucketfuls, soaking through Wendy's raincoat and ruining her velvet gown. Wendy heaved in large amounts of air, even though her chest hurt horribly. She looked into the sky and saw the leaf floating in the stormy air.

Wendy ran down the street, following the skeleton leaf far from her house. The coldness of the air and the physical strain weren't helping Wendy's illness at all. Soon she felt too weak to follow the leaf any farther The leaf flew higher and higher into the night sky, so that Wendy lost track of it. She stopped on the curb of the sidewalk and watched helplessly, as it flew far from view.

"Peter! Please come back!" She yelled at the top of her lungs into the stormy night. Then a wave of dizziness hit her and she passed out onto the cold , hard ground.

**A/N -** well, another cliff hanger. I'm really having fun writing so much drama. By the way, I'm going to add a chapter to It only takes a dream before I add another chapter to this story, so once you see the next chapter to that story posted, you'll know that the next chapter to this one is coming soon .


	8. Restless

**Please read the A/N before reading! It's important!**

A/N - This chapter goes back a bit to the end of chapter 6. It goes back to the part where Wendy tells Peter the bad news and Peter runs out the window to fly back to Neverland. Also as a warning, this chapter contains blood. Not a lot, but I just had to put it in incase anyone really hates blood.

**Sickness of the Heart**

**Chapter 8 - restless**

Dark storm clouds covered the sky's of Neverland. Not one flower blossomed and not one bird chirped. Neverland had become nothing but a cold, snowy wasteland. Of course this was what always happened when Peter left. The water in the Neverland bay had frozen over. Not one animal nor person could be seen for miles. The Indians tied their teepee's up tight against the storm and the fairies had draped leaves over their holes in the trees to keep snow out.

As for the lost boys, they were bound to their underground home. All of them surrounded the fire place and huddled up against the cold. They all hoped that Peter would arrive soon and relieve them from this cold spell.

----

Peter flew fast against the cold Neverland winds, but it was hard to even see with the snow going against him. It was bad enough that he was crying freely now because of what he had just been told about his one and only love, but now the bitter wind stung his face making it much worse. His tears started to freeze due to the icy winds. And worst of all, he felt sick. His cheeks were bright red, he felt nauseated and he could feel his skin growing hotter by the second.

The thing that worried Peter the most was that even though he passed the border into Neverland, the storm was not disappearing, but in fact getting much worse. This was probably due to the fact that Peters mood was all but happy. Since the weather in Neverland was directly affected by the mood and well being of one boy, Peter Pan.

He tried to wipe the frozen tears from his face as best he could. He defiantly did not want the lost boys to see him crying and laugh at him. He descended towards the tree that lead to the underground home. Flinching as his bare feet touched the cold snow. He stepped through the passage of the home and slid down the slide into the main room.

The boys heard Peter sliding down into the house.

"Peter!" All they boys got up from the warmth of the fireplace to greet their leader, but Peter pushed past them without even a second glance. Pushing Slightly to the ground in the process. Tootles, the youngest of the lost boys, peaked through the crack in the wood and looked at the blizzard that was outside.

"Hey guys!" Tootles called out. "Lookit! It's still snowin'!" Nibs, Peter's second in command, rushed to Tootles side and looked through the hole.

"Oh No!" He turned to the rest of the lost boys "This could only mean one thing!"

"Peters upset!" Curly said.

"What do we do?" The twins asked together. Slightly paced the floor, trying to come up with an idea. Slightly usually came up with the best plans when it came to sticky situations, Which is why he was Peters battle planner. Suddenly a light went off in Slightly's head.

"you should go talk to him!" Slightly pointed to Nibs.

"Wha-What? ... Me! ...but..." Nibs stuttered.

"You '**ARE**' Peters second in command!" Slightly rolled his eyes. Slightly had always been a bit jealous of Nibs position of second in command, but he also hated to deal with Peter when he was mad. Since Peter had so much power in Neverland, the lost boys quickly learned to fear his anger.

"But ... What if he ...B-B-Banishes me?" Nibs asked, but Slightly was already pushing him towards Peters room.

"Well then ... At least you can say that you tried!" Slightly smiled and shoved him into the room.

Nibs stood there for a second, but Peter didn't even notice his presence. He lay on his bed with his back to the door and his covers wrapped tightly around him. From under the blanket, Nibs could hear a faint sniffling and occasionally saw Peter shake. He stood by the door for a long time, not really knowing how to start.

"P-Peter?" Nibs asked shyly. Nibs saw the boy under the covers go ridged at the sound of his voice."Why are you crying?" Nibs asked worried. Suddenly, Peter shot up from under the blankets and rushed over to Nibs.

"I was NOT crying!" He yelled loudly. Nibs clearly was through Peter's pretend. The boy was deathly pale, tearstains covered his cheeks, and his eyes were blood red.

"Sorry Peter ..." Nibs backed away a little. Peter turned his back to his second in command to try to wipe more tears from his eyes. Nibs saw this action and reached out his hand to try to rest it on Peter shoulder, but Peter pulled away.

"Just go away!" Peter turned to Nibs and yelled.

"No!" Nibs said bravely. A whole lot braver then he actually felt standing up to the prince of Neverland. "I won't leave you!" From outside the tree house, dark clouds moved quickly across the Neverland sky. The low rumbling of thunder startled the lost boys who sat in the main room waiting for Nibs to come back out. A bolt of lightning struck the ground beside the tree house and caused the ground to shake.

"You will leave or I shall banish you!" Peter shouted and drew his dagger. Nibs pulled out his own dagger and advanced on Peter.

"You will have to toss me out because I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong!" The eternal boy looked deep into the eyes of his friend. Something about Nibs eyes ...

They looked on the verge of tears and full of so much worry.. And it was that something that was in Nibs eyes that caused Peter to completely breakdown. The leader of the lost boys stood stiff, looking into Nibs eyes.

Then he just collapsed into tears. he sat on the ground with his head between his knees and let his tears flow freely.

"She's ...dying ..." Peter whispered. Nibs quickly leaned down next to his leader, straining his ears to hear him.

"What?" He asked Peter.

"Wendy! She's Dying Nibs!" Peter shouted. All of a sudden, Peter felt a sharp pain surge through his head. Images went through his brain at lighting speed. Painful images.

_Tinkerbells light going out, Wendy saying goodbye, Hook advancing toward him with blood red eyes, Him and Wendy fighting after dancing._ Then the images disappeared... and all he felt was pain. He grabbed his forehead to try to calm the pain but nothing helped.

"What's wrong!" Nibs shouted. Another bolt of lightning hit the ground, causing the earth to shake again. The other lost boys heard the noise and came bursting into the room.

"What's wrong with Peter?" Slightly asked when he saw his leader on the ground in pain.

"Wendy is dying!" Peter cried out again.

"What!" Curly shouted over all the confusion. Tootles, being the youngest, didn't know what was happening.

"What's wrong with Peter?" He tugged on Slightly's shirt and cried.

"He'll be ok." He assured the littlest lost boy. Nibs began to take immediate control of the situation.

"Help him into bed!" Nibs gave the boys orders to help their leader. The twins rushed to Peter's side to help. "Get Tootles out of the room!" Slightly nodded and carried Tootles into the main room. Nibs, Curly, and the Twins sat by their leader in bed and let him freely cry. They sat there for a long time in complete silence. Sometimes they would exchange worried glances but then turned their attention back to the ground. Eventually Slightly returned and joined them after he calmed Tootles. Peter's tears did not cease, just calm. Sobs still wracked his body . As he cried, he stared at the wall with a blank expression. Nibs finally decided to break the silence.

"What happened to Mother?" Peter jumped a bit, not expecting anyone to talk.

"She... she told me that ... that ..." Peter just couldn't bring himself to say it. The thought of it stung at his heart. He Swallowed hard. "She's very sick ... She's going to die..." He whispered. All the lost boys gasped, except for Nibs.

"But Peter..." Nibs said " You said '_To die, will be an awfully big adventure' _Maybe it will be that way for Wendy too."

"NO!" Peter lashed out at Nibs again. " I'll never see her again if she is to die! I Wish I never went back to see her!" Another surge of pain cut through Peter's head. He let out a small scream. The boys immediately jumped to help Peter.

"Lay down Peter." Slightly said as he thought of what Wendy would do if she were here. Once He was laying down, Nibs put his hand to Peters forehead just as Wendy had done once when she was caring for Tootles when he was sick.

" He's really hot guy! get some snow and melt it, he needs something cold!" Nibs yelled as he took control again. Curly and the twins ran outside to get snow.

----

As Curly and the twins ascended the stair to the underground home, Tootles came running up to the older boys.

"What's going on?" The little one asked. Curly, who was usually the jokester, knelt down with a rare serious expression on his face.

"Come with us and help us get snow." Tootles nodded and followed the boys. The lost boys pulled a string at the end of the hallway which lifted a door to the outside. The land looked so deserted. Thick grey storm clouds covered the sunless sky. An odd combination of snow and rain fell in thick waves. Thunder shook the ground and lightning burst from the sky. Tootles winced every time lightning hit the ground. He closed his eyes for a second at the sound. He opened his eyes and saw Curly, bent down, shoveling snow into his arms.

"Why's it still snowin'?" Tootles asked his friends. Curly stopped gathering snow. The twins grew ridged and gave Tootles a pained expression.

"Wendy is ..." One twin said

"Dying ..." The other finished. Another bolt of lightning hit the ground, but Tootles didn't flinch.

"NO! " He shouted above the roar of the thunder. "Your lying!" Tootles young eyes held so much pain and panic in them. he breathed heavily with his eyes locked on the twins.

"I wish they were..." The boys heard Slightly's voice pop into the conversation. They looked toward hangman tree in which they lived. He stood in the doorway with his arms crossed.

"Is he ok?" Curly ran up to him. Slightly shook his head.

"No, but he is sleeping. I'm afraid he is a little sick from the storm too. Now, lets go back inside before we all get sick." Slightly led his friends back into the safety and comfort of their home.

----

_"Oww... my head."Peter moaned in distress as he went through another head ache. he closed his eyes tightly to brace himself for the pain. Once it was over, Peter opened his eyes and rested his hand on the ground next to him. Instead of feeling the warmth and security of his blankets, he felt warm sand. He observed his surroundings to find that he was no longer even in his home, but in a sandy tropical beach. The beautiful tranquil Neverland bay. He sat for a moment, admiring the setting sun. The sky had turned the most beautiful mixture of yellows and pinks. The gentle waves pulled in and out, creating a soothing melody._

_"Peter!" The eternal boy snapped out of his dreamlike state at the sound of a feminine voice calling to him. He turned his head and saw Wendy. Her fluffy brown hair bounced behind her. She was dressed in her white nightgown as always. Her blue eyes sparkled with life and vibrance._

_"Wendy! What's going on? how did you get here?" Peter ran to Wendy. The girl gave Peter and awkward smile._

_"Peter, Have you gone mad? I've always been here!" Wendy giggled when Peter gave her a confused look._

_"But you told me you were sick. Why are you so happy about that?"_

_"Sick?" Wendy looked shocked " Peter Pan, you truly HAVE gone mad! Why would I be sick, I feel fine!" Wendy reached out and took Peters hand in hers. With Fingers laced, Wendy began to pull Peter in the direction of mermaids lagoon._

_"Where are we going?" Peter asked._

_"Don't you remember? Yesterday we agreed we would go down to the lagoon together." Wendy smiled._

'Maybe i just dreamed it all ...' _Peter thought to himself ' _Wendy isn't dying, she's right here, and she's well! It was all just a bad dream.' _Wendy turned around to see Peter staring off into nowhere._

_"Peter come on, lets go swimming." Wendy said. He snapped out of it and smiled to Wendy. Peter stood on the edge of the lagoon as he watched Wendy lower herself into the water, fully clothed. Her hair began to loose its natural curl and became course and heavy with salt water._

_"Get in! it feels wonderful!" Wendy floated in one place, treading water and enjoying the waters natural warmth. All of a sudden Wendy's whole body was dragged roughly under the waters surface._

_"Wendy!" Peter shouted, but she couldn't hear him. Peter quickly jumped into the luke warm water. Ignoring the stinging sensation, Peter opened his eyes underwater. Before him lay a horrible sight. Three bluish green scaly creatures had their arms wrapped tightly around Wendy. One had both her feet, one had her around the chest and the other had its webbed hands around her neck. Half fish half women, all of them, took turns hissing in Wendy's ear._

_She tried to reach her hand out to Peter, but the creature that held her around the chest forced her to put it down. Wendy tried to hold her breath, but she soon felt a heaviness in her lungs. Finally , she could hold it no longer. She opened her mouth and let the salty water fill her lungs. Peter tried to swim to Wendy but something was holding him back. Another mermaid had its webbed hands around Peters waist. He looked back at Wendy just in time for her to take one more watery breath full of salt water, before she closed her eyes forever._

_peter began to feel himself give into the water. he opened his mouth to breath, but the fresh air was replaced with water that quickly filled his lungs. The burning sensation was more then Peter could bear, and his world around him darkened._

----

Peter sat bolt upright in his bed, letting out a short surprised scream. Nibs, who was sleeping in a nearby chair, snapped awake and looked around wildly.

"Wha-whats goin' on!" He yelled out in confusion. He looked towards where Peter lay to see that the boy was sitting upright with his hands on his chest, breathing heavily.

"What's wrong?" Nibs rushed over to peter.

"Wendy ... she... drowned!" Peter took deep breaths between words.

"What's happened now!" Multiple voices said from the doorway. Nibs looked over to see the rest of the lost boys in the doorway, looking worried. They had been sleeping since it was late at night, but they must have heard Peter and came running. From behind him, Nibs heard a retching sound. He turned around to see Peter leaned over his bed, vomiting water. He convulsed for a second before laying back down. Then, oddly enough, he began to laugh lightly.

"I'll Never make fun of you guys when your sick again." Peter said with a smile. He remembered on many occasions Peter would make fun of the boys when they got sick. Even when Wendy scolded him for it..Even if it did shake him up quiet a bit ,He was much more then happy to find out that the horrible vision he saw was just a dream. The lost boy were happy that at least Peter smiled.

"So your ok?" Slightly asked. Peter nodded with an awkward smile. The lost boys, Including Nibs' left Peter in peace. In seconds he was right back to sleep.

----

_Peter lay still on a cold hard surface. As he opened his eyes, the bright sun caused his eyes to have blind spots. They sky looked so peaceful, but he heard loud screams in the background. He knew he was not in a good place. His suspicions were confirmed when a big black boot Pressed itself down hard on peters chest, crushing his ribs._

_"Give up yet Pan?" Peter heard a familiar voice say from above him. He looked up with his glassy blue eyes to see none other then the feared pirate of the Jolly Roger standing over him, grinning evilly._

_"Don't give up Peter!" Peter heard another voice call out from behind Hook. Past the captain, Wendy Darling was tied roughly to a pole in the center of the ship. "Don't let him win Peter!" The girl screamed out. Hook raised his iron claw at the end of his hand high above Peters head and got ready to bring it down. Peter heeded Wendy's words and quickly withdrew his own dagger. He held it in front of his face. The two pieces of metal hit. Peter forced Hooks claw back, causing the captain to loose his footing. Peter took this opportunity to roll out from under him._

_""Give up old man!" Peter laughed and flew into the sky high above the ship._

_"If I were you Pan, I'd come down here now!" Hook yelled._

_"Why should I Codfish!" Peter crossed his arms, still smiling. Hook walked over to where Wendy was tied up. She wrinkled her nose at the captain._

_"if you don't surrender, Your Wendy will be no more!" Hook cut the rope that held Wendy and grabbed her around the waist so he could point his Hook at her throat._

_"NO! Let her go! I'll come down!" Peter quickly descended toward the deck. His eyes filled with tears when he looked into Wendy's horrified face._

_"Seize him!" Hook yelled the second Peters feet hit the deck. Tons of pirates appeared and began to tie Peter up. Peter didn't fight back, he was to afraid of what Hook might do to Wendy if he fought._

_Once Peter was secure, Hook walked over to Peter with Wendy still at Hook point._

_"Now, let us make Pan suffer the ultimate punishment for cutting of me hand!" The whole crew began to cheer, but only horrible thoughts raced through Peters head._

_"The Death of Wendy!"_

_"NO!" Peter shouted hysterically. A deep dread took over Peter. He felt nauseated and light headed. "PLEASE DON'T!" But he wasn't listening. He raised his Hook and aimed it for Wendy's neck._

_Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Peter saw every single little detail. The Hook tore through Wendy with a gruesome shredding sound. The deafening screams of a girl, the cheers of the pirate crew,and blood. Lots of it. Peter was to horrified to do anything, he couldn't even scream. He couldn't even cry..._

_Bright crimson liquid splattered onto Peters terrified face._

_It Killed him inside ..._

_Finally Wendy's limp body dropped to the deck. Peter snapped out of his state just in time to see Hooks metal claw speeding toward his own neck._

_----_

The lost boys had finally gotten back to sleep. Even Nibs joined the boys in their big shared bed in the main room of the tree house. Until a scream woke the boys from their slumber. All of them recognized Peters screams and ran into his room.

"What's wrong?" Nibs yelled the second he got in. The eternal boy was drenched in a cold sweat, panting and crying hard.

"peter, it was just a dream." Slightly assured him. But Peter shook his head. He wrapped his arms around his legs and shivered.

"You need to get some sleep Peter." Curly said.

"NO!" Peter yelled. He pushed the blankets away from himself and got out of bed "I'm Never going to sleep again!" Peter screamed and ran out of the room.

**A/N - That was long. 10 pages long hand written . I'm quiet proud of myself actually.**


	9. Hopeful

**A/N -** This chapter is basically like another side to chapter 7, while Wendy was having her own troubled in chapter 7, Peter was too. Now you will also find out what happens to Wendy after she passed out in the street . And did you notice this is the first chapter with a happy title?

**Sickness of the heart**

**Chapter 9 - Hopeful**

The storm had finally calmed, but the snow still clung to the land. Everything seemed to be frozen in place. The land was finally balanced again, unfortunately, the same could not be said for Peter and the lost boys. Everything inside the underground home was unusually quiet. Tinkerbell hadn't sensed such a nervous air in the house since Peter cut off Hooks hand. Peter had been so nervous that the pirates would come back after him that he kept the whole house quiet so that he could hear any approaching foot steps, but that was a long time ago. The stillness in the air was enough to drive the lost boys insane, but none of them dared to say a word. Especially not to Peter. Even if it was freezing outside, the room was warm due to the radiating heat from the fireplace.

And there Peter sat, stubborn as ever. His arms were crossed as he sat in the chair in front of the fireplace. He had not moved for a long while. Whenever the others tried to reason with him, he lashed out at them. So the boys all kept their distance from their leader.

Nibs, who grew restless from just sitting across the room from Peter with nothing to do, got up and walked over to the tiny cove in the wall where Tinkerbell lived. Peter watched Nibs out of the corner of his eye, wondering what the boy wanted with his fairy.

No light came from behind the leaf that served as a door to Tinkerbells room, meaning the fairy was asleep.

"Tink..." Nibs whispered. A small light from within flickered on. He saw the silhouette of a tiny winged women. The leaf was pulled away from the opening as Tinkerbell greeted Nibs with a warm smile.

"Why did you wake me?" Tinkerbell chimed. Nibs nodded his head toward Peter and flashed Tinkerbell a worried look.

"I'm worried about Peter, it's been three days since he's gotten any sleep." Nibs leaned closer to Tinkerbell so that Peter could not see his lips moving, since he knew Peter was watching, He could sense it.

"I wonder why he's acting so strangely?" Tinkerbell whispered back. Nibs saw Peter almost close his eyes, but then he popped awake as soon as he realized that he was dozing off.

"It all started when he came back from Wendy's house three days ago. He's been nodding off all day, but won't go to sleep. He's still a little sick and needs his rest!" Nibs said. Tinkerbell was defiantly worried for her boy. Peter looked exhausted and the lack of sleep only made him very irritable.

"Did you talk to him?" She asked.

"Only like a thousand times! All he said was to leave him alone...so we did!" Nibs hissed. Tinkerbell turned her back to the boy and began to search the cove for something. Inside her home was cozy and warm. Tinkerbell used melted away candles that were to low for the lost boys to use as lights. In the center of the cove, a large open oyster shell that served Tinkerbell as a bed and mirror. She made sure to polish the shell everyday so that she was able to adore herself in it. She overturned her oyster shell and stashed under it was a small bag.

"If that silly ass won't listen to reason, I'll just have to make him listen!" Tinkerbell poured something from the bag into her hand. A beautiful mixture of crimson red and gold dust lay in the fairies palm. She closed her tiny fist around it and flew over to where Peter sat. The pixie found a resting spot safetly on the boys shoulder. Peters eyes remained transfixed on the warm dancing flames before him. Tinkerbell saw him close his eyes again, He once again snapped awake and rapidly shook his head to stay awake.

"Why don't you go to sleep Peter?" Tinkerbell asked him calmly.

"I won't!" Peter shouted. "I'll never sleep again!" He stubbornly turned away from her. When Peter set his mind to something, he always carried it out, no matter what anyone said. Headstrong was one thing you could call him. It was just in his stubborn nature.

"You can't live your whole life without ever sleeping silly." Peter considered her words. It had only been three days and already he was very weak from lack of sleep. But then he remembered the dreams. Those awful nightmares that haunted him. They just kept replaying themselves in his mind.

The fear

The Pain

The blood...

Peter could still hear and feel them as if he was right there. He put his hands over his ears to drown out the horrid screams of a young girl being unmercifully killed by Hook. He shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of these frightening images.

"No-no-no-no-no-no!" Peter repeated " I will Never ever go to sleep !"

All the boys watched from across the room, they were all truly worried for him. They had never seen Peter this upset before. It pained them to watch, but none of them dare go near him. Tinkerbell was now their last hope if they wanted to help their friend.

"if you will not go to sleep willingly..." Tinkerbell said as she flew in front of his face and put the hand that contained the dust in front of her lips. "Then I will make you sleep ..." She blew the contents of her hand in his face. The dust swirled in the air before finding a finally landing spot on his face. As soon as the colorful dust hit Peters face, it dissolved into nothing. Peter felt a magic binding him, it wound itself around the boys mind and began to serve its purpose. His eyelids started to get heavy. He shook his head to try to get rid of the heavy air of tiredness that surrounded him, but he could not fight off the magic. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

"What was that?" Slightly asked as he got up from the floor.

"A sleeping spell, maybe now he can get the rest he needs." Tinkerbell said before she flew back into her cove.

----

_Peter felt much different then he had just a few minutes ago. His muscles felt fresh and relaxed. His eyes no longer dropped from exhaustion, but that wasn't the only difference he sensed. He almost felt as if he was in an alternate existence. Everything around him felt so real but at the same time, everything felt so fake. It was unlike any other feeling. He looked around at his surroundings. They were much different then what he was used to . Rain fell hard and fast from the starless night sky. Not many trees grew in this town, except for the occasional tiny nothing of a sprout that was on every other corner. The only thing that occupied the side walks were a mass of ugly brick buildings. Then Peter looked up and saw a familiar sight, a giant clock tower stood out in the dark fog._

_"I'm in London!" Peter said._

_"Peter come back."_

_He heard a familiar voice call out. Peter looked down and was barely able to make out the dark shadow of a young girl, shouting and pushing against the strong winds. "Please come back!" The girl looked around wildly. Peter finally recognized the voice over the loud boom of thunder._

_"Wendy!" Unfortunately the girl couldn't hear him. A thick layer of fog in the air also prevented the girl from seeing him. "Wendy, please look up!" Peter attempted to call out again. Wendy still couldn't hear him. She gave one last confused look around the area before she took off down the dark street as if she was chasing something. A powerful wind prevented Peter from flying off toward her. Another powerful gust hit him dead centered, and Peter was thrust backwards into the night sky._

_----_

Peter snapped awake and looked around. He was propped up in a chair by the dyeing fireplace. All the candles that normally covered the room had been put out in preparation for bed. The lost boys all slept together in a large hammock on the far side of the room. Each of them were safetly curled up as they snored away. Peter grabbed a stick and poked that the embers in the fireplace. As soon as the fire began to grow, Peter leaned back in the chair and let his muscles relax.

_'That dream felt so different ...' _He thought to himself as he watched the lost boys sleep. _'It wasn't like any of my other ones. I wonder if Wendy's OK' _ Peter turned toward Tinkerbells cove. No light were on within, which let Peter safetly assume that the fairy was fast asleep on her oyster shell bed. He was the only person awake in the house. Peter quickly turned his attention back towards his dream. He wanted so badly just to peak into Wendy's window to make sure she was ok. Even if it was a dream, it wouldn't hurt to look.

"They won't miss me for a few minutes..." Peter smiled mischievously and flew from his underground home into the snowy Neverland sky.

----

Peter finally reached London after what seemed like forever. Shocked to find it in the same state it was in his dream.

'_It's just a coincidence. ' _ Peter tried to assure himself. The strong winds made a normally short trip to the Darling household seem like forever. Soon he arrived at his destination. he was more then happy to find a small light coming from Wendy's window. But then Peter saw something strange. A shadow was reflected on the far side of the wall, much to large to be Wendy's shadow. Then Peter saw a large figure step up to the window. A man was standing at Wendy's window. The man reached his hand up toward the lock.

"No!" Peter shouted and charged toward the window. The man jumped back in shock when he saw Peter rush in front of the window. Peter grabbed the bottom of the window and tried to force it open, but the man was fast. He used his strength against Peter to force the window back down. The wind unmercifully blew against Peter, causing several skeleton leaves to fall from his attire. With one final push from Peters enemy, the window closed. The man smirked evilly at Peter before he locked the window and closed the curtains.

"Wendy!" He shouted. "Evil grown up!" Peter gave the window a hard kick before he flew up higher to look for another entrance into the house. Soon he spotted another window on the side of the house that appeared to be unlocked. He began to fly in the direction of the window, but then he heard a familiar voice call his name.

"Peter!" The eternal boy looked down and saw Wendy. Just the same as he had seen her in his dream.

"Wendy! I'm up here!" Peter yelled, but he knew she could neither see nor hear him. A skeleton leaf blew in the air toward Peter. Wendy looked up in the sky towards the leaf and began to run after it. He caught the leaf as it drifted close to him. Wendy stopped dead in her tracks and looked around wildly for the leaf. A thick layer of fog hugged both Peter and the leaf making them impossible to see.

"Please come back Peter!" Wendy yelled before her knees buckled from under her and she passed out onto the cold hard concrete.

"NO!" A sudden burst of unexplainable strength coursed through Peters veins. he pushed passed the heavy storm winds and landed beside the fallen girl. He gently picked her up in his arms and held her close to his body in an attempt to keep her warm.

"P-Peter?" Wendy's eyes fluttered open Peter smiled awkwardly to her. Wendy suddenly felt the wonderful sensation of fly through the air. She looked over Peters shoulder to see the ugly brick building slowly fading away in the fog as Peter flew higher. "Where are we going?" Wendy whispered.

"I'm taking you back home." Peter said. He wanted nothing more then to take Wendy to Neverland with him, but he couldn't do that when he knew Wendy wanted to be with her family for however long she had.

"I wanted to talk to you ...but you left." Peter heard the girl whisper into his chest. "come to Kensington gardens tomorrow... I need to tell you something important..." Wendy rested her head against Peters body and closed her eyes, falling fast asleep.

----

The bright sun peaked in through the nursery window, causing the girl in the nearby bed to open her eyes. She stayed in her laying down position, admiring her ceiling which had been painted to look like a clear blue sky with fluffy pinkish clouds.

"What a strange dream... Why did it feel so real..." Wendy sat up and let her eyes adjust to the bright room. No more toys littered the floor. Her father took them all away when Wendy came back from Neverland. It hurt her badly. It was like he took her childhood and dumped it in the nearby trash can. Her toy box had been replaced with a large oak vanity table She was told that a young women should be very concerned with her physical appearance. Of course Wendy did care for her appearance, but she also didn't mind a good dirty run in the forest. After her parents had found out she was sick, her brothers were moved into the guest room so that Wendy would have a nice big privet room to herself to do whatever she pleased and have privacy while doing it. This made the room seem very empty. Looking around at what used to be the most exciting and fun room of the house, and seeing what it was now, was rather upsetting to her.

Wendy reached her hand up to pull her curly hair out of her eyes. Her hair felt wet and course. She thought it might just be because she was hot in the middle of the night, but then she looked down at the rest of her body. She still wore her velvet ball gown and tan raincoat. All of which was soaking wet. Wendy once again thought back to the dream. She was running ... in the rain and if she was wet and in her rain coat now, then the dream had been true. Peter really had come back or her.

"It wasn't a dream..."Wendy walked over to her vanity and grabbed a towel off of her stool. She began to dry her wet body off as she thought back to the dream.

_'He flew me home. It really wasn't a dream... it couldn't have been a _ clothes and pick out new ones.

"Oh No!" Wendy shouted aloud. "I told him I wanted to meet him in Kensington Gardens!" She quickly finished her dressing and ran for the front door. Her mother, who was sitting in a large stuffed armchair by the door, greeted her daughter warmly.

"How are you feeling dear?" Mary asked.

"I'm feeling a little better. " Wendy pointed towards the door. " I think I'm going to go out for a while to get some fresh air." Wendy stepped outside into the bright sunny streets. It was always so beautiful after it rained, and it smelt so fresh and new. Wendy spun around once in the street, enjoying the breeze before continuing on her way.

----

Peter remembered what Wendy had told him about meeting him a Kensington gardens. He was beginning to wonder if the whole thing had been another crazy dream, because he had been sitting on a bench in front of a large grassy area for longer then he cared to wait. People in fancy suits and pretty dressed began to stare at him. To them, Peter looked like all the other parentless street urchins that roamed the park at this time. Most of them stealing and looking for donations. His messed up hair, dirty feet and strange clothing defiantly made him look the part. Every time an adult walked by and gave Peter a look of utter disgust, he would wait until they passed, then he stuck his tongue out at their backs. It was actually quiet enjoyable. but no matter how fun it was, Peter hated waiting. He was just about to give up and fly back to Neverland, when a soft voice stopped him from fleeing.

"Peter, your really here!" Peter turned around and looked into the soft face of the girl. She looked absolutely stunning. her hair appeared lighter then it normally was due to the sunlight. It elegantly fell around her shoulders with a slight curl at the bottom. Her eyes shined bluer then the frozen forget-me-not falls back in Neverland. She was dressed in a pretty little white summer dress with tiny pink flower prints scattered on it. The dress fell just below her knees, showing off her matching heels. Peter had never seen hr in everyday clothing, just her trademark white nightgown.

"You look beautiful..." Peter said as he felt his cheeks begin to heat up with embarrassment. He was indeed turning a very bright shade of pink. He averted his eyes toward the ground to hide this most embarrassing situation.

"Why thank you Peter. I'm so glad to see you again." Peter looked up and received a giggle from Wendy when she saw just how pink Peters cheeks had grown. She sat down on the bench next to him, just taking in the beauty of the park for a few minutes. Peter decided to break the awkward silence.

"What did you want to tell me?" He asked eagerly. He noticed Wendy take a deep breath before answering him.

"I want to go with you..." Wendy said "Forever." She looked away as if it pained her to say. Wendy loved her family with everything she had. Imagining her new life without them was enough to bring tears to her eyes. But she needed to go with Peter, he was her only hope. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked back at Peter.

"Are you sure?" Peter asked.

"I just need a chance to tell my family goodbye and gather my belongings. I want to leave tonight before I change my mind, or my dad sends me to that stupid hospital, and I'll never see you again!" Peters eyes widened but he nodded his head in agreement. Peter stood in front of Wendy and bowed.

'Then would you like me to walk you home Lady Wendy?" Peter held out his arm to her. Wendy smiled and curtseyed in return.

"That would be lovely, Mr. Pan."

----

Wendy finally got home at around sunset, since her and Peter decided to walk extra slow through the park before heading home. Peter smiled and waved a goodbye at Wendy's house.

"Remember... Tonight!" Peter shouted. Wendy unlocked the door with a huge grin on her face, but the second she saw what waited for her on the other side, he grin quickly faded.

"What's going on?" Wendy asked. Her father and Aunt sat on opposite sides of the sitting room couch. Each of them gave Wendy a cold hard look. Sitting in the middle of the couch was a strange women Wendy had never seen before. The women wore a large smile that frightened Wendy quiet a bit. Aunt Millicent stood up and ushered Wendy toward the strange women.

"Wendy, this is Doctor Beth. She's from the girls hospital I told you about. " Aunt Millicent said .The women held out her hand, but Wendy didn't accept it.

"I told you I'm not going!" Wendy shouted. The women recoiled her hand and sighed.

"Now I know going to a new place is scary but I'm sure you'll fit in fine with the other girls." The doctor said as she rested her hand on Wendy's shoulder. Wendy quickly pulled away from the women.

"I'm going to my room."Wendy hissed at the women and headed for the stairs.

"Wendy Moira Angela Darling!" Wendy stopped dead in her tracks when she heard an angry voice yell her name. She slowly turned to see the angry face of her father. "I want you to hear what the doctor has to say. " Wendy didn't get any closer to the doctor, but she didn't flee either. Doctor Beth leaned down to Wendy's level and looked her straight in the eye.

"Wendy, your father has told me all about your Hallucinations, but- "

"Hallucinations?" Wendy took a step back from the doctor and glared at her father. "So that's what you think of me? Do you really think I'm crazy? You think Peter is only a hallucination!"

"I think you believe to strongly in something that is clearly nonsense." Mr. Darling said calmly.

"Peter Pan is not nonsense! I'll even prove to you that he is not, because I'm leaving with him tonight!" Wendy let tears freely run down her cheeks. " I just wanted to tell you goodbye Daddy..." Wendy turned on her heels and ran from the room. She needed to find her mother and tell her she had finally made up her mind.

**She was going to live in Neverland forever**

A/N - Plot twist . Mr. Darling denies the existence of Peter Pan, yet he saw Peter at the window while he was locking it! Just wanted everyone to catch that.


	10. Happy

A/N - I'm really sorry it took me so long to update, right now I have so much going on with school. Another thing I realized, The story is halfway over! It's going to be 19 chapters long and we are on chapter 10. I'm so proud of myself.

**Sickness of the Heart**

**Chapter 10 - Happy**

Her father had failed her when she needed him most. It almost felt like he wanted to cause disaster in her life. He took everything that was sweet and innocent in her life and shattered it into a million tiny pieces. If it were up to him, he would throw those pieces into the nearest waste bin, but she wouldn't let him. It was Wendy's fight against her father that glued those shattered pieces together again. Even after they have been broken so many times.

Tears obscured her vision as she ran through the elegant halls of her house. Many family pictures lined the walls. In each picture, her father hovered in the back corner, distant from all the rest of her family. She stopped abruptly in one of the halls and leaned against a wall. The searing pain in her chest was no where near the torment that filled her heart. Why anyone would make another suffer like this was beyond her.

She let her legs collapse under her weight as she slid down the wall into a fetal position. She wanted nothing more then to go back to the days when she was a tiny infant. Her mother used to pick her up and rock her until every single last tear dried from her face, but now that she was older, everyone found that sort of behavior as improper for a young lady.

Suddenly a soft melody danced into the room from under the big oak door that lead to the outside. She wiped the tears from her eyes and approached the door. As Wendy got closer to the door, the sweet melody grew louder. She stepped outside and into the brilliant sun.

Her backyard was quite plain, but she loved the homey feel it had all the same. Soft patches of grass were concealed within the large brick fence that separated her land from everyone else Tiny white lilies popped up in various places due to the rainfall the other night, and of course, Nana's dog house sat in the far corner. Along side the house was a small plot of freshly grown roses, and sitting in the middle of that miniature garden was Mary Darling, singing a soft song to her flowers. Wendy sat beside her mother and let the song return her to childhood. Mary stopped singing when she noticed her daughters presence, but her smile fell when she saw Wendy's puffy red eyes.

"You met the doctor didn't you?" She asked Wendy seriously. In response, she shook her head sadly. Instead of comforting her daughter, Mary handed Wendy a handful of seeds. " Gardening always calms me." Wendy took the seed without question and began digging into the moist soil like her mother.

After a moment of silence, Wendy finally spoke. " Mother..." She said barely above a whisper. "I'm leaving tonight with Peter." Wendy saw her mother bow her head for a moment. In Mary's heart, she knew this was going to be her daughters final decision, but letting a child go was never easy on a mother. Even if it is for the best. "and ... I would love for my whole family to be there for me ... Even dad."

Mary put a comforting hand on her daughters arm. " You know we will all be there... Even your father." Wendy was glad to have her mother on her side. She needed someone who still believed in something other then what was expected of a lady now-a-days. Wendy scanned the garden for a good place to plant more seeds. In the middle of the fresh dew covered roses was a black withering flower. She reached over to try and pull it out, but her mother grabbed her arm.

"Leave it be."

"Why?" Wendy wondered why her mother would leave a dead flower in her beautiful rose garden.

"Whenever a flower in my garden dies, I leave it be. So it will become a part of the land forever, and I will never forget all the special roses that made my garden beautiful." Wendy smiled at her mothers brilliance. Mary was right, the gardening caused Wendy's mind to wander so she forgot all her problems. As she dug through the soft soil, she thought she felt all the spirits of the past roses that have lived in the garden. Even ones from long before she was born. Her and her mother spent the rest of their day in the garden, happy, carefree and childlike.

----

"Hurry Everyone! He'll be here any moment!"

"Can we come Wendy?"

"Of course not. You have to stay here and keep mum and dad company."

Everything was finally coming together. It all seemed so perfect, like a dream. But it wasn't, it was all real. Wendy even pinched herself to make sure of it. Her whole family gathered in the nursery around the open window. Even her father sat nervously on the edge of her canopy bed. Her mother had forced the stubborn man to be there for her, after she personally got rid of the doctor. Her father finally gave in. Wendy had no time to be worried about the mixed feelings rushing through her families head. She dashed around the room gathering many things she needed for her journey, and threw them into a bag. The whole time she was getting ready, she told her family stories of Peter Pan and the land she loved so much.

"And then, when Peter kissed me, it felt only like pure magic! His eyes sparkled like a million stars. Oh! He's just the sweetest boy ever!" She said dreamily.

"You forgot to tell them how clever he is!" A voice called from the window. Wendy spun around. All of a sudden, every dream, every childlike memory came flooding back to her as she looked into the vibrant green eyes she knew so well, and the form of a proud boy on her windowsill.

"Peter Pan!" John and Michael shouted. Mary Darling let out a happy sigh once she saw the boy her own childhood was based around. Everyone ran for the eternal boy. Wendy hugged him with tears of joy in her eyes. When she let go of the boy, he stepped further into the room. Peters cheeks flamed red from the physical contact with Wendy.

Mary shyly approached the boy once he was settled.

"Peter... Pan?" She nervously fiddled with her dress. " Do you ... remember me?" Peter gave Wendy's mother a playful smirk.

"Of course I do! I never forget anything!" He proudly put his hands on his hips. All this time, a very discomforted George Darling attempted to slink out of the room unnoticed, but Wendy saw him and loudly cleared her throat to get his attention. The man stopped dead in his tracks, but did not turn around.

"Father..." Wendy said sternly. " I would like you to meet Peter Pan."

Peter eyed the back of Wendy's father strangely. To Peter, he seemed sort of familiar. Slowly, the man turned to meet Peter eye to eye. The second Peter got a good look at the mans face, he gasped loudly.

"You!" Peter hollered. "Your Wendy's Father?"

Mr. Darling gave Peter a disgusted snort. " And your that little brat that refuses to grow up!"

"Don't ever call me a brat! Your the brat!" The two of them stood there for a few seconds, giving each other cold stares. Wendy became very uncomfortable with the whole situation and broke Peters icy stare.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?"

"Your Father is a betrayer!" Peter edged closer to the man. "He could have gotten me and the lost boys killed, but you looked much younger then. Looks like you were destined to be an old man just like I thought! You didn't belong in Neverland!"

Mary got off her daughters canopy and rushed to her husbands side. "George, you went to Neverland too?" Her husband shook his head yes. Everyone in the room grew quiet. This very same man claimed that Wendy was crazy for believing in Peter Pan, yet he was once in the same place he now calls 'poppycock'.

"Neverland is a dangerous place. Which is why I think it's a bad idea for her to go off with this reckless brat!" Mr. Darling yelled. Peter balled his fist but Wendy put a hand on his shoulder to hold him back.

"Everyone calm down." Wendy stood between the two rivals. "What happened to make you hate Peter and Neverland so much?"

Peter smirked at the man he hated so much . " Yes Berry ... Why don't you tell everyone of the time you betrayed me!" Peter egged him on. George sat down on the canopy bed as everyone gathered around to hear the story.

"A long while ago ... I was a little boy who wished never to grow up. That's when this retched brat came to get me. He made me a lost boy and nicknamed me 'Berry' for the large amount of them I always ate ..."

----

_A young pudgy boy at about the age of twelve, sat on the soft mosses of the Neverland forest. The batch of bushes he was sitting in front of held a large batch of plump juicy berries. The boy took a handful of the sweet fruit and shoved them into his mouth, leaving red stains on his face. A high pitch crow sounded from somewhere deep within the forests. The lost boy stood from his buffet and ran in the direction of his leaders call. Berry never did really memorize his way through the forest. Directions were never really his strong point. Every tree and path looked exactly like the other. Of course, he was sure he had passed the same large oak tree several times already. A low rustling sound came from a nearby bush, but Berry just ignored it. Friendly creatures always roamed the woods in Neverland, so the noise wasn't all that threatening to him._

_It had been awhile since he had heard the crow of his leader. He knew if he was late to yet another lost boy meeting, Peter would surely forbid him from the next adventure and he would be forced to sit all alone at home with nothing to do. Berry stopped for the millionth time at the big oak tree he knew he seen before. Finally giving up, he leaned his tired body against the trunk of the tree. Another rustling came from the bushed behind him. This time he jumped, just feeling a bit frightened because now he knew he was truly lost, and everyone knows not to trust anything when you are lost._

That's what I get for stopping to eat. ' _Berry thought._

_This poor little lost boy had every right in the world to feel threatened by the noise. Because in the darkest shadows of the pine needle trees, a sinister man grinned at his prey that was just innocently wandering through the forest. From deep within the shadows, that mans hand and hook flew out and grabbed Berry faster then he could know what was happening. With the hook around his waist and the hand holding his mouth shut. Berry tried with everything he had to try and escape the man, but the more he wiggled, the harder the hook dug into his side._

_"You would be wise to hold still boy." The man whispered in his ear. Suddenly, the boy stopped moving. Hook looked down at the boy who was now laying limp in his arm. Passed out. Probably from fear. The captain handed the fainted boy off to his gunner, Billy Jukes_

_"Take him to me ship."_

_----_ **A few hours later**

_Berry opened his eyes to see nothing but darkness. A black strip of fabric was tied tightly around his eyes. Lifting it, he found that the small room he was in wasn't much brighter. The room was empty, except for the small barrel he was propped up against. He tried to get up, but his limbs were so heavy, it was impossible for him to stand. All of a sudden the door burst open, sending rays of light into the room and blinding Berry._

_"Welcome to the Jolly Roger!" A man said from the doorway. It was the same man that had grabbed him in the forest. He held his hook high so that it gleamed in the midmorning sun. From Berry's point of view, it was nothing but a threat. Hook grabbed Berry's collar with his hook and pulled him up to eye level. "Listen boy, I know your one of Pans little brats. Which means you know the location of Pans hideout. Is that correct?"_

_"Y-Yes." Berry stuttered nervously._

_"Now we can do this the easy way , or the hard way. I'll let you go, it you tell me where Peter's hideout is." Hook gave the boy an eerie smile._

_"What if I refuse?" Berry talked back. Hook slammed his metal claw against the wall of he brig and pulled downward, creating a large gash in the wall._

_"That will be your throat."_

_Peter had told all the lost boys to never give away the location of their secret hideout. If it ever got out to the pirates, they would surely throttle them in their sleep, but Berry didn't want to die by the hands of Hook either. He sighed loudly, knowing what he was about to do was the wrong choice._

_"Do you know where mermaids lagoon is?" Once Berry received a nod from Hook, he continued. "Well... if you climb the mountain just north of it, you'll run into forget-me-not falls. The hideout is ... behind the falls."_

_"So that's where our young Pan has been hiding." Hook laughed. " You did a good thing boy. My men will escort you back to the island whenever you give the word." Hook set Berry down and the boy began to back away. "One more thing boy. If your tongue happens to slip, and you tell of our meeting ... I will know." He motioned toward a scraggly looking bird who was keeping a vigilant eye on the boy. Berry's stomach turned as he thought of what Hook would do to his leader. He bowed his head, not knowing what else to do._

_"Take me home ... "_

_--- _**Later that night**

_Long before Peter lived in the underground home, he had another place of hiding. Peter's waterfall home was the most spectacular thing you would ever see. If you climbed the mountain north of mermaid lagoon, there is a forest with so many trees clumped together, you would miss the natural pond nestled between them. Over the pond, a high mountain was the holder of a large gushing waterfall, Forget-me-not falls. At night, this waterfall was most magical. Fairies would dance and bathe around the cascading waters, filling it with enchanting music. If someone would look beyond the falls, they would notice the back opened up into a large cave, and in that cave, you can see evidence that someone lived there. This was Peters hideout._

_Berry had a hard time getting home. Not only was he so tired, he felt like he could just fall out and die, but the thought of how Peter would punish him slowed him down. By the time he got home the sky was pitch black and all the others were safely in their beds. He flopped down on his own bed and let the pounding falls put him to sleep._

_Berry slept for only a small amount of time before he was abruptly awoken by a loud scream._

_"Let me go Codfish!"_

_Berry sat up fast in bed. There stood the evil man, but this time he was after Peter. He had Peter held down the same way he had captured Berry earlier that day. In the middle of the room, all the other lost boys were tied together with a tight rope. Peter put up one hell of a struggle in Hooks arms. He jerked away quickly, which caused his claw to dig into Peters side, creating a deep gash on Peters hip. Peter grind his teeth to stop from crying out._

_"How did you find me!" Peter yelled_

_"You've been betrayed Pan!" Hook enjoyed the look of torment on the young boys face. "by one of your own."_

_"By who!" Peter now angrily turned his attention to the lost boys. "Come forth the one who betrayed me!" Shyly, Berry stepped forward with his head bowed. He looked up and saw Peters cold stare. A look he hoped to never see again. Then, almost as if a miracle was sent to them, the boys heard the rhythmic tick-tock of a clock. All the boys smiled at the scared face of Hook._

_The beastly crocodile had followed Hook all the way to Peter's hideout. It stood tall, grinning and hissing at the captain. The crocodile forced itself into a race toward Hook. In defense Hook threw Peter in the path of the crocodile. The crocodile swiped its claw at Peter to move him out of the way, slashing through Peters leg. The beast continued it's blood thirst for Hook and chased his straight out of Peters hideout. The lost boys managed to get free from their bonds and ran over to Peter._

_The eternal boy sat on the rocky ground, clutching at his leg. Slightly asked Peter to remove his hands so they could see, He held his hands out for the lost boys to see. They were covered in dark red liquid that was flowing out of Peters leg. His leg was swollen to the size of a ripe orange. The crocodile had swiped her mighty claw down on Peter leg very hard, leaving four very big cuts. There were also little scratches across Peters face that were to minor to worry about. The worst wound was the one on his waist. Hooks claw was forced into Peters side due to his excessive wiggling. It was extremely deep. Poor Peters eyes looked on the brink of tears, but he was to proud to cry._

_From somewhere, Peter found the strength to stand up and look dead in Berry's face. "For betraying me... you are hear by banished forever!" Peter shouted. He clutched at his bloody side, since every time he inhaled, a sharp pain shot through his body. Berry slowly backed away from Peter, shaking his head in denial._

_"No-no-no , you can't! I'll grow up if I go back. I don't want to grow up!"_

_"A fairy guide will escort you home. You don't belong in Neverland." Peter turned away from the boy . Berry would have rather gotten killed by Hook then grow up._

_"I hate you Peter Pan ..."_

_----_

"I got really sick after that and my leg was broken. I tried to fight the pirates back as best I could, but they kept coming back. Each time, they got closer to ... killing me." Peter bit his lip to hold back tears. He hated to admit the fact that Hook and his crew had almost won the fight against him.

"That's why you hate Peter so?" Mary finally spoke up. " You never wanted to grow up?" Mr. Darling nodded. Wendy stood in front of her father. She tried to imagine him as a young boy, no bigger then John. All Wendy's talk of Neverland an Peter Pan must have brought him so much sadness that he told her she was crazy for believing in it, just to make her stop talking about it. His own childhood dream of not growing up had failed. She finally realized why her father didn't want her to go to Neverland. She would be living his dream of Never growing up. Wendy looked into her fathers eyes and almost felt tears spill from her own.

"Neverland is the best thing that could happen to me .." She let tears freely run down her cheeks. " You know it is, you've been there." She was surprised to see her father look at her and smile. He walked over to peter and kneeled down to eye level with him, putting a hand on peters shoulder.

"Look after my little girl."

Peter saluted Wendy's father "Aye sir!" The whole family stared at him in shock. Even Peters eyes were wide at his decision.

"I can really go?" Wendy flung herself into her fathers arms. "Oh thank you father!" The whole room burst out in joyous yells and song. John and Michael ran up to Wendy to hug her one last time. Mrs. Darling gathered the last of her daughters belongings while Peter and Wendy walked hand in hand toward the window.

"One more thing." Mrs. Darling said. She walked over to her daughters jewelry box and took out the wedding ring she had given Wendy. "Keep it with you." She slipped the ring into Wendy's hand. Wendy stared down at the long drop from the window. She was quite weak from the other nights events. Much to weak to hold up her own weight.

"Peter, I don't think I have the strength to fly." Wendy whispered.

"That's ok, I'll carry you." Peter said. "Ready Wendy?" Once she gave him the Ok, he lifted her into his warm arms.

"I'll miss you all so much." Wendy looked one last time at the faces of her family, trying to stick this image into her mind forever. "Goodbye ..."

It was a very sad event, yet at the same time, it was happy. Everything was falling into place. As Peter turned from the window toward the starry night sky, she forgot all the problems that troubled her head. Peter turned back to the window one last time to see only George standing there.

"I still hate you Peter Pan ..."

Peter just smiled at him before turning his back on the Darling house for good. As Peter flew to Neverland, the girl in his arms fell into a peaceful sleep.

A/N - Thank you so much for being patient with me. Sanouske S. Sagara , I kept your critisism in while I wrote this chapter. Did I do any better?


	11. Cautious

A/N - So sorry for not updating in so long. I was so busy with school work that I had no time. Thankfully April is a month where I'm never really busy. It's my Birthday/spring break month So I used my time to write and I have up to chapter fifteen written, all I have to do is type it all up and ta-da! Of course, I need to take Kingdom hearts breaks so it'll be slow typin'.

On another note this chapter does contain blood so if you don't like it, watch out. Also, whenever the text is _italics _it means that it's a flashback.

Sickness of the Heart

Chapter 11 - Cautious

The morning sun rose over the lush green island melting the last bit of snow that hung on the Cyprus trees. Large chunks of ice fell from the leaves creating large muddy puddles throughout the forest. The thick canopy concealed the sweet smell of bark in the area, but the cool breeze carried it away across the gentle rolling waves. The sweet forest scent mixed with the gentle breeze of the ocean spray creating an overall relaxing mood.

The radiant sun hit the top of the snow covered mountains and made a blinding skyline to the mermaids zipping under the murky lagoon surface. The blue skinned creatures peered above the surface with their glassy eyes to see a young boy with sandy blond hair and a cocky smile glide right past their home. The mermaids had the unique ability to sense things unknown to others. They knew all that happened in Neverland. All it's secretes and mysteries. One beautiful gilled women turned to another and grinned.

"She's back." The creature hissed and clicked in it's own language. The underwater demons watched as the boy disappeared into the thick forest. Peter stood in front of a tree that easily towered over the others. He looked around with sharp eyes and when he saw no one around, he smiled to himself. Entering the house, all was silent. The lost boys were still asleep in their bed. Peter stood that the base of their large shared bed and gently shook their bare feet to wake them. Several tiny, messy haired heads popped out from under the covers. They opened their mouths to protest about being woken up so early, but quickly shut them when they saw Peter put a finger to his lips.

"She's back." He whispered. The boys quickly leaped out of bed and dashed to the back room of the house to Peters room. On Peters oversized bed, a familiar little girl lay in the very center. To them, she looked like the same heroic girl they had accepted as their mother. Except her face was a little sharper now. Her features were also a little more defined. Especially her hips and chest grew to create graceful curves.

"When did she get here?" Curly asked.

"Just last night." Peter replied. The group of boys crawled onto the bed and formed a circle around the sleeping figure. Peter sat on his knees beside her head. Sun streamed in through the dirt walls and shined in the girls eyes, causing them to pop open.

"...No more light." She muttered before closing her eyes tight.

"So, the brave Red handed Jill is afraid of a little sunlight is she?" Peter laughed. Wendy opened her eyes and smiled up at him.

"Red handed Jill fears nothing." She sat up and looked around at the group of boys surrounding her. Suddenly, the boys all leap from their current spot on the bed, into her arms. Wendy hissed in pain when she felt a tight squeeze around her waist, but returned the embrace none-the-less. Her aches and pains were nothing compared to how much she had missed them all.

"We thought you forgot about us." Slightly cried into her shoulder.

"I would never forget my boys." She gently wiped a tear from his cheek. Peter stood from his bed and cleared his throat loudly to get Wendy's attention.

"Wendy. I would like to formally welcome you back to Neverland." He bowed. "Are you feeling Ok?" Wendy's hand went to her burning chest, but she shook her head despite the pain.

"Never better." She lied.

"Wendy..." She felt a gently tug on the sleeve of her night gown. She looked over to see Tootles sitting beside her. "Tell us a story." He asked. Wendy giggled inwardly. She hadn't told a story in so long since it was forbidden in her house.

"I suppose one couldn't hurt." The boys quickly gathered in front of Wendy to listen. As Wendy weave together a tale filled with love, hope , and glory through their heads, she completely forgot of everything else. It was as if she had never left. As Wendy spoke, she looked upon the faces of the eager lost boys. They all sat on the edge of their seats, just like John and Michael would do when they heard one of her stories. That's when she remembered the fact that she would never see them again. She missed them already. A small tear slid from the corner of her eye.

"What's wrong?" Peter interrupted. Wendy stopped her story to wipe the tear away.

"Just thinking."

"About what?" Peter stood to face her looking very worried. She gave him a reassuring smile.

"Everything..." Wendy sat down on her bed with her eyes closed. Her family, she would never see them again. None of that mattered now, her choice was already made. What mattered now was that she was home. She opened her eyes and smiled up at Peter. "but none of it's important now." Wendy bounced out of bed and took Peters hand in hers. The boys face burned Pink as he cleared his throat again.

"Well... W-what should we do now?" Peter asked nervously while trying to disconnect his hand from hers. Wendy got the hint and dropped his hand, giggling in a girlish fashion at his embarrassment. Suddenly, the sound of pounding footsteps echoed from above.

"Not again." Peter grumbled. The other boys all took cautious steps toward the back of the room. Wendy looked around, confused by the boys actions.

"What's happening?" She questioned Peter loudly. The eternal boy turned to her and put a finger to his lips rather harshly.

"If anything happens, protect Wendy." Peter fled from the room while the other boy scootched closer to Wendy.

"Please tell me what's happening?" Wendy asked louder. The boys all shushed her so the whole house was quiet again. The footsteps grew louder and soon they sounded as if they were right over head. Dirt fell from the ceiling from the pressure. Then the noise stopped, but Wendy heard the faint yelling of men overhead.

----

A large party of men made their way through the dense trees, lead by a devious looking man in a red coat. Occasionally, the scraggly looking men behind him turned to whisper to each other. The leader stopped the others and looked around.

"I saw 'em around here Cap'n" One man said.

"I don't care what you saw. Those fairies would never live this close to Pan." The leader yelled.

"But Cap'n, I saw 'em wit' me own eyes." the stout man next to him replied. The leader turned to his right hand man next to him and gestured to his glasses.

"I'm surprised you see anything when your eyes have failed you so long ago." The Bosun gulped as he raised his hook to tap the mans glasses.

"Codfish!" Another voice entered the situation. Peter Pan stepped out from behind a large pine tree and faced the hooked man. Strangely, Hook made no advances toward him, which actually gave Peter and uncomfortable feeling. "I know you want to come visit me Codfish, but its a little to early for visitors." Peter laughed.

"I have no time for you know Pan, I'm quite busy." Hook hissed. Peter cocked his head to the side, wondering why Hook didn't gut him where he stood, or at least try to. Peter watched as Hook and his crew took off in the opposite direction. Instead of leaving, Peter ran to catch up with Hook.

"You feelin' ok Hooky?" Peter held real worry in his voice. "You haven't tried to kill me in awhile." The pirate swiped his hook at Peter in an attempt to make him back off. In fact, it worked. Peter stopped dead in his tracks and watched as the pirates faded and became Silhouettes in the blinding sun. Peter stood there, full of concern. The only reason his greatest enemy would have for not taking a chance to kill him would be if he had something greater planned.

"Wonder what he's doin'?" Peter whispered to himself before turning to go back inside.

The boys gasped when the flap to the room opened. Luckily, they saw it was only Peter before they attacked. Wendy pushed past the boys and fell into Peters arms.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" She asked. Peter disconnected himself from her arms and sat on the bed with his head in his hands.

"It's hook, He's acting kinda funny."

"Hook?" Wendy sat beside him. " That's impossible. Hook is dead." Peter shook his head.

"We left to soon and he escaped.

"How did he escape?"

"Well..."

----

_"Old, alone, done for! Old, alone ,done for!_

_A mighty, green sea monster thrust itself out of the water and snapped it's large jaws. It's target was the captain of the Jolly Roger who hovered over the pale reflective night water. The moon lit the deck of the nearby ship, bathing the children upon it in it's glow._

_"Old, alone, done for!" The band of children relentlessly sang to try to get the captain to fall into the crocodiles belly. The captain tried to keep himself hovering by thinking of his own twisted excuse for a happy thought. Panicked, he flapped his arms to rise a few feet._

_"Old." One of the twin said. Hook lowered._

_"Alone." Curly repeated. Hook lowered even more._

_"Done for!" Wendy finished. Hook looked up onto the main mast of the ship. Peter stood atop it, his eyes closed and his sword rested against his face, deep in thought. Finally deciding to give the children what they wanted, he crossed his arms across his chest and repeated._

_"Old, alone, done for." With a bold expression and a stiff body, he let himself fall into the open mouth of the crocodile below. The crocodile closed it's mouth, trapping Hook within it's warm belly before dropping back into the waters depths._

_This is where Peter made his big mistake. The children had all assumed that hook had given in and he was gone for good. Peter should have know that his worst enemy wouldn't have given up so easily. So as the children cheered and Peter reluctantly sailed the ship all the way back to London, Hook put up his own struggle. As Hook began traveling down the crocodiles throat, he threw his hook at the walls. Huge gashes appeared on it's insides. He could hear the beast coughing and hacking._

_The crocodile swallowed in water, causing Hook to lower to his belly. Hook used the sleeve of his good hand to cover his nose against the stench while his Hook was busy slashing it's insides. The beast squirmed and wiggled to try to stop the pain, but it only made Hook fight harder. The air around him was slowly beginning to deplete. Just as he thought it was the end, he gave one more mighty slash and came tumbling out of the monsters belly. The crocodiles body convulsed one last time, then it's bloody form fell to the bottom of the sea. Hook swam up and broke the waters surface, taking in large deep breaths. A half broken bloody ticking clock floated to the surface . The captain grabbed the clock, and with one swipe of his Hook, he ended the annoying ticking forever. _

_The Jolly Roger was gone and his crew was no where in sight. Not only that, but the crocodile that had stalked him for ages was finally defeated. Absolutely nothing was holding him back from killing Peter Pan now. All those failed plans to kill Pan were spoiled by the crocodile and now it was gone. Neverland was about to change forever._

_"Cap'n Hook!" Someone called from the distant shore. The captain looked in the direction of the voice to see his band of pirates waving to him on the dark beach. Hook made his way to shore_

_"Thought you wouldn't make it Cap'n." Jukes approached him._

_"That beast hasn't killed me all these years and I wasn't about to let it now." Hook grumbled as he began to ring out his wet clothing. " That thing had another thing coming if it thought it would have the last laugh."_

_"Wudda we gonna do now Cap'n." Mullins asked. "Ships gone, Pan took it wit' 'im t'e London." Hook smiled inwardly._

_"Pan will be back. His desire to remain a boy is far stronger then his desire for that wench. And when he returns, I will get me ship back."_

_----_

"When I saw Hook still alive, I thought I was dreaming. But when the mermaids told me of everything, I knew it was true." Peter said.

"So what happened when you got back?" Wendy asked.

----

_Peter sighed loudly as he steered the enchanted ship away from London .The lost boys had decided at the last minute to stay with peter. They got as far as the front door before turning back. They lined the rails of the ship as the mist from the clouds hit their faces._

_"Do you think she'll remember us?" Nibs asked._

_"She would never forget!" Slightly replied._

_"Maybe mother will come to visit us soon!" Curly said._

_"No!" Peter tilted the rim of Hooks hat that he wore so he could see the boys. "You can't ever speak of her!" Peter pushed the hat back down to conceal his eyes which tear slowly started to form._

_"Sorry..."Curly whispered. the rest of the trip was silent. Finally they passed the barrier between Neverland and London. Peter hardly paid any attention to the surroundings as he began to land the ship on the waters surface. He was much to busy trying to force himself not to turn the ship back around and go back for Wendy._

_"Hey Peter, Lookit that!" Tootles pointed towards the shore where a campfire burned brightly. Peter reached for his telescope and searched the beach._

_"It's Hook!" Peter said in shock. " But how did he-" Peter was cut short by the loud firing of a gun. Peter shot up into the air to avoid the bullet, while the others dove onto the deck and covered their heads. "Abandon ship! Spilt up and meet back at the hideout!" Peter commanded. They all shot off in opposite directions so they could avoid the shots. Thankfully the boys all made it safely to their home, but they were not without problems. Every time the boys stepped out of their home, they were attacked to the point where they had to leave for long periods of time and come back when they were certain the pirates were no longer in the area. The boys soon became afraid to step outside_

_Then , one day, The strangest thing happened. Hook just stopped. They sometimes saw him on land, but he wasn't looking for them, or even attacking. Just looking for something._

_----_

"What do you think he's looking for?" Wendy interrupted.

"I'm not sure... "Peter looked up thoughtfully. "But he really started acting weird on the first day I went back to your window."

"Oh I remember!" Nibs shouted. "The day you left, and you caught us talking about mothers?" Peter nodded in response.

"I left because I was summoned by the fairies..."

----

_"Peter!" tinkerbell flew to Peters side and jingled anxiously in the sleeping boys ear. Peter lazily swatted at the fairy,_

_"Lemme Lone Tink, 'm Tryin' t'e sleep." Peter mumbled into his pillow._

_"It's an emergency! The fairy counsel has summoned you." Peters eyes snapped open at the mention of the counsel. The fairy counsel was made up of a group of fairies who watched over the land. They were the only beings in Neverland that held more power then Peter. In fact, it was them who let Peter stay in Neverland in the first place. They took care of all the changes in Neverland, but were rarely ever seen. Even Peter had only spoken to them a handful of times, and those times had only been in bad situations._

_So as Peter made his way to the hidden fairy tree in which they resided, he was nothing but worried. As Peter flew quickly between the trees, not looking where he was going, he rammed right into the back of a man and was knocked to the ground. He sat , rubbing his bruised forehead._

_"Watch where your going!" The man yelled and turned to reveal himself as Hook. His crew squatted into a defensive stance. Hook immediately signaled them to put their weapons down. "Easy men, tis only Pan." Hook and his crew turned away from Peter and went off in the opposite direction. Peter still sat on his bottom, completely confused._

_"That was ... odd." Peter said to Tinkerbell. Deciding to let it go, Peter went off into the woods toward the fairies grove. The grove was tucked between a mass of trees and bushes. The whole place was secure by magic, so the fairies were not easily spotted A tree, burdened by old age, stood in the middle. To the untrained eye, it looked like a normal tree, but it was far from that._

_"Where are they?" Peter asked upon arrival._

_"They went into hiding." Tinkerbell let out a high pitched whistle and a hole appeared in the old tree out of no where. A small couple with wings appeared from the trees depths. One was a women with long flowing blond hair and a warm, welcoming face. She curtseyed to peter in her ankle length, silky gown. A male fairy in a green , leafy vest stood next to her. His features were much more sharp and defined._

_" Presenting Cadoc, King of Neverland." Tinkerbell gestured to the male fairy. "and Arien, Queen of Neverland." She then gestured to the female fairy. Peter bowed deeply to both royals._

_"I'm glade you came so quickly, young prince of Neverland." Cadoc spoke._

_"Why have you summoned me?" Peter asked. Cadoc and Ariens faces grew serious._

_"Things are changing Peter." Cadoc started. "Hook has been coming onto shore far more often then needed."_

_"He is searching for something, but what, we cannot tell." Arien said. Peters eyes opened wide._

_"I ran into Hook , all he said was ' Watch where your going!'" Peter said in his best Hook impersonation voice. The fairies resisted the urge to laugh._

_"We brought Hook to Neverland for your enjoyment. You asked us for a challenge, and we brought you him." Cadoc said. "Now it is you who keeps him here. Every time Hook tried to leave, he fails because you don't want him to leave. Your mind is his prison. I fear that even if you let him leave, he wouldn't dare until he saw you dead."_

_"Since Hook was brought here for you, it is you who must make sure he does not disrupt Neverlands peace. Keep your eyes sharp and your ears open. Don't let your guard down so easily next time." Arien said. Peter nodded in response._

_Hook was never hard to look after. For the most part, Peter knew just how to keep those pirates in line, but something about the fact that Hook ignored him instead of trying to slaughter him, gave him a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach._

_"I'll watch Hook, don't worry." Peter reassured them._

_----_

"I wonder what this is all about?" Wendy thought out loud. Peter shrugged.

"Wish I knew... I actually kinda miss me and Hooks fights." Wendy laughed and stood from the bed.

"I'm going to go outside for a bit of fresh air." Wendy headed for the door. Peter rushed to her side and pulled her back.

"You can't, Hook is still out there!"

Wendy gave peter a strange look " Why not? Hook isn't attacking anymore, so it's safe."

Peter shook his head. "He's still hook. Even if he is acting differently. Promise me you won't go outside without me?" Wendy was shocked by peter harsh tone and serious expression. She realized Peter was afraid for her, not mad, just afraid. In her weak state, it would be impossible for her to fight Hook and Peter knew that. But being shut up inside all day when there was a whole Island to roam about was unbearable.

"Peter... I..."

"Just promise me!" Peter held up his little finger in front of Wendy's face. The girl gently took his pinky in hers.

'"I promise."

A/N - Once again, so sorry for such a long wait I'll be quicker, I promise...(hehe, end line for the chapter)

Wonder what Hooks up to? Well... I really don't have to wonder do I? I'm the all knowing author MUAHAHA, I already know what he's up to ( and you don't... yet) I love being the Author!


	12. Curious

A/N - woah, how long has it been. A month? Seems like a lot more. Oh well. So I've made a lot of changes in my Fanfiction line up, but I will tell all of that in the authors note at the end of this chapter. I really wanted to update, and I'm sure you really want to read. So I'm keeping this brief.

**Sickness of the Heart**

**Chapter 12 - Curious**

Wendy was not sure how long she had been in Neverland. Days, weeks, months? Who knows .You were never able to tell in Neverland. Not that it mattered anyway. The days spent there were always filled with joy and laughter. The pain and suffering of Wendy's illness had almost completely gone away. Though she still had to keep herself at a slow and steady pace to maintain health. Peter neverminded that very much. He either sat by Wendy's side while she did her motherly duties around the house or he would go out on his own and find an adventure.

Wendy opened a book that sat isolate on the table. Skimming the last chapter she had read, she leaned down so that she was able to lay flat on her stomach. She stretched the book out in front of her and laced her ankles. She turned a thin page using one hand and fanned herself with the other. The underground home was unbearably quiet. The boys had all gone on some sort of adventure no doubt. Wendy was not allowed to go on adventures anymore. It was both dangerous to her health and life according to Peter. Wendy wondered if Hook even knew if she was here. Of course if he did, he sure wasn't acting like he cared.

Growing increasingly bored with her book, Wendy set it back down on the table and went to stand by the door. She smoothed out her light blue sun dress. Now that she was away from the sometimes very cold London, she wore this kind of thing everyday. She couldn't even imagine wearing the unbearably hot nightgown. Heck, she didn't know how she standed it when she first went to Neverland. From the humid breeze that was coming through the cracks in the bark door, Wendy was willing to bet that it was a most beautiful day out.

'_Hopefully Peter will comeback soon and I can go out with him."_ She thought to herself. Leaning up against the cool dirt walls, she let her eyelids drop for a second. The front door to the home opened and Wendy was hit with the glorious summer breeze.

"Speak of the devil." Wendy laughed to herself when she saw Peter slip under the pull up door. Peter flashed her his famous cocky grin.

"So, do you speak of me like the devil often?" Peter playfully tapped her nose. Wendy giggled.

"Only when you leave me here to BURN to death in this heat." Wendy said dramatically but with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Peter walked over to the table at which a large basin of cool water was kept. He dipped his hands into the liquid and splashed the water onto his face. Wendy took up the chair across from him and eyed Peter. Once Peter finally sensed her gaze, he looked up.

"What?" He asked.

"It's awfully nice out Peter... A lovely day to go to the beach, don't you think?" Wendy asked while displaying her very best 'puppy dog pout' . No one could resist that face. her bottom lip thrust forward, large watery eyes and puffed out cheeks. Peter rolled his eyes (something he had learned from Wendy) and smiled back at her.

"Fine, lets go."

Wendy mentally cheered for herself. Dashing off into the back bedroom that was given to her, she pulled down a suit case. After a second of digging through her various clothes she had packed from home, she finally found her pastel pink bathing suit and cap. She quickly slammed her door shut while she began to dress. Meanwhile Peter stood outside the door, rolling his eyes.

'_Girls ...' _He thought _' They can never just go out in what they've got on!'_ But to him, it didn't matter how long Wendy took to get dressed. Wendy was now safe in Neverland. Even though she still had a couple of bad days where she had to stay in bed, she was getting better by the day. But even with that factor, something still worried Peter. He was afraid her health could go right back to where it once was if there weren't certain precautions taken. From a small crack in the front door, a bright yellow light shot into the room and came to a rapid stop right next to Peters head. The small hourglass figured Tinkerbell collapsed on Peters shoulder while trying to catch her breath.

"What's wrong Tink?" Peter asked with a hint of worry in his voice. Tinkerbell coughed and sputtered for a bit before answering.

"I have just been informed that something has been stolen from the fairies. Something important!"

"What is it?" He tried to hurry her along, his curiosity growing with each second wasted.

"A spell book with a most terrible power has been taken There are spells and concoctions listed in that book that if in the wrong hands, could cause damage to not only Neverland, but to you as well." Peter face flushed of all color, but he somehow managed to keep his determined expression.

"Hook..." He mumbled softly. " I knew there had to be a reason he was coming to shore so often." Peters mind was filled with nothing but worry and grief. Surely Hook knew of Wendy's return by now. The mermaids saw her come in, and they hated Wendy. They were also on good terms with Hook, they must have told him by now.

The door to Wendy's room opened and standing in the door way, Wendy stood with her hands on her curvy hips. Her pastel pink bathing suite hugged her body, showing off just how much she had grown over the year. Even if she still held a girlish, childlike innocence, She had indeed grown to become a young women in appearance. But the thing that really got to Peter was that he had never seen so much of Wendy exposed. Wendy giggled when she noticed Peters gaping mouth and blushing cheeks.

"So... Do you like it?" Peter stuttered for a second before nodding. Wendy brushed past him and began to ascend the stairs toward the front door. Peter ran to catch up with her and pulled her back before she could step outside.

"Maybe we should stay here. What if your not well enough yet." Peter had to think of someway to make Wendy stay home.

"I'm fine. If this is about my bathing suit, I could always wear something over it."

"No no... it's not that...it's just ... what if... Hook! ..." It was the only thing Peter could think of. Maybe that threat would make her change her mind. Instead of worrying, Wendy laughed.

"Hook isn't doing anything. He's been ignoring all of us. Now lets go!" Wendy quickly took Peters hand and drug him off before he could argue.

The sun was at it's highest point in the sky, casting small shadows of two children running through the cool beach water. Wendy ran out towards the open sea until the water reached her waist She spread her arms out wide and let the breeze blow through her chestnut brown hair. Peter was hesitant at first. A deep dread was caught in the very pit of his stomach, but seeing Wendy stand there was just so tempting. With a wicked grin, he went charging into the cool waters and threw a big handful of water at her back. Wendy let out a small yelp escape from her lips as she slowly turned.

"Your mine now Pan!" Wendy laughed and retaliated with her own handful of salty water. Peters eyes opened wide with shock as a blast of icy water his bare chest. Wendy picked up another large handful of water but Peter saw it coming. Right before the water hit him, he began to glide back to the shore with Wendy running through the water under him. Clearly out of breath, she collapsed onto the beach. Peter fell from the air and collapsed beside her. He listened to Wendy's angelic laughter ring throughout the massive Neverland coast. Peter stood from the beach and walked a few feet from where Wendy lay.

"Where are you going?" She asked curiously.

"You'll see" Peter began to walk along the sand in a specific pattern. Then Wendy realized it, he was drawing something in the sand. After a few minutes of Peter diligent work, he finally stepped away from his masterpiece and beckoned Wendy toward him. Wendy stood beside Peter as she let a small "awww" passed her lips.

"Peter ... It's perfectly lovely!"

Engraved in the soggy sand of the Neverland beach was a large hearts with various other little drawings enclosed within it. Most of which were little stick figures that looked to represent Peter and Wendy. All of the small figures within showed scenes depicting the first time Peter had ever taken Wendy to Neverland. Wendy took Peter hand in hers and led him down to the waters edge.

As both children stood there with laced fingers, Peter could not help but forget all about that silly book of spells. His thoughts were far from it. The only thought now was '_how do I get rid of this blush before Wendy notices.'_ She was just so beautiful, how could he not be embarrassed around her. Maybe he was growing too? Maybe he was getting those '_feelings' _Wendy was talking about. It was much to confusing to even think about. Soon they both lost track of time. Peters mind was way to lost in other thoughts and Wendy was just rendered speechless by everything that had happened to her thus far.

"Hey Peter?" Wendy's voice brought Peter back to reality.

"What?" Peter looked back at Wendy too see that she was still looking off into the horizon.

"Look, over there." Wendy pointed off past Peter. " Isn't that the Jolly Roger?" Peters head quickly snapped in the direction Wendy was pointing. All of a sudden, all the worries and fears Peter had thought had left him came flooding back as he observed the ship. The Jolly Roger was definitely not in its usual position. Normally the ship was anchored so far away from the shore that it looked like a mere speck against the vast horizon. Right now, the ship was so close to the shore that he could clearly make out every barrel on deck. Not only that, but it appeared to be getting increasingly closer. That only meant one thing, Hook was planning on coming to shore again. It was time to get some answers and stop this for good. Taking Wendy with him was way to dangerous. Since Peter now had Hook under his watchful eye, he did the only thing he could think of doing.

"Wendy, go as fast as you can back to hangmans tree. Make sure you go unseen. I'll take care of Hook." Without hesitation, Wendy nodded and took off toward the forest. She turned around one last time to see Peter speeding toward the Jolly Roger.

----

Peter stepped lightly onto the deck of the wooden vessel without being noticed. Of course, that was probably only because there was no one on deck to notice him. The deck was completely empty.

'_Strange...'_ Peter thought to himself. The whole ship was completely silent So quiet that it gave Peter an anxious feeling. Almost as if at any moment, the whole world could collapse and your scream would echo around the world. Peter tiptoed over to the door that lead down to the lower levels of the ship and stepped inside. Still no noise, just the same nerve wracking feeling. Continuing to sneak around the lower corridors, he noticed that one of the doors were cracked just slightly so that Peter could hear a slight humming noise coming from within. Peter squinted into the crack to see Hook sitting at his big oak desk reading a book. Stacked next to him was a big pile of what seemed to be twenty more books.

"Hook..." Peter stepped through the door. "What are you playing at?" The pirate slammed his book closed so that he could meet Pan eye to eye.

"That would be not business of yours boy. Now run along and play." Hook reopened his book and settled back into reading.

"But what about your ship? Why is it so close to shore? Where are your men? Answer me now!" Peter screamed.

Now slightly annoyed with peter. Hook roughly slammed his book down. No one gave orders to Captain James Hook. Especially not that brat, Peter Pan. "It is of no concern to you Pan, as to where I sail my ship. As for my men, they are already on shore as we speak. Peter puffed out his cheeks in a pout, trying to copy Wendy's puppy dog pout.

"Why are you actin' so funny Hook?" Peter just couldn't help but tease the man. "Don't you love me anymore Hooky?" With that being said, Hook finally had had enough. He strode over to where Peter stood and picked him up by the vine strapped around his shoulder. With a mighty heave, he tossed Peter clear out of the room. As Peter quickly scrambled to his feet to charge back into the room, Hook slammed the door right in his face. Hook smiled proudly to himself as he listened to Peter throw a fit out in the hall. He remained calm and sat down as if nothing happened.

"My intentions will be made quite clear soon Pan, be patient." Hook whispered to himself. He held the book up in front of his face. The front of the book read _' Curses of Neverland '._

----

Wendy carefully made her way through the woods. She found it quite impossible to make it through soundlessly. It seemed as if every move she made either triggered a twig to snap or a bird to chirp. It also didn't help that her feet were bare. After every other step, Wendy had to stop to pull a thorn out from the bottom of her foot.

"I'm sure t'e Cap'n said it wus this way."

Wendy heard someone talking after she shyly jumped over a low hanging branch. That was most definitely not a bird. She paused for a second, but only silence met her ears. Soon enough though, she heard the heavy footsteps of someone coming right in her direction. Thinking fast, she ran behind a tree and scrunched her body up into a tight little ball.

"This is whut ye git when ye ferget a map!"

"We don need no damn map. All were lookin' fer is a Pointless plant!"

"Pointless Jukes? Far from such, Hook needs it te complete that spell O' his. Last ingredient. Ye know whut t'e spell is fer, don't ye?"

"Course I do! Pan won't be flyin' from this one. Damn sure O' that!"

Wendy remained stiff as a board as she saw a two big sets of boots trudge right past her. Luckily the men past without even noticing her. Wendy heard both of the men laugh as they slowly faded into the distance. As soon as she knew they were gone for sure, she took off running towards hangmans tree. No longer caring about the twigs pinching at her feet. Whatever the pirates were talking about was aimed at Peter. She stood at the base of Hangmans tree. She looked around to check for intruders as Peter had told her to. Once she was sure everything was safe, she pulled down on the vine to open the door.

"Please... Don't hurt Peter ..."

A/N - Ok yes, its been awhile. I really hoped you liked that Chapter. The next chapter should have a lot more adventure to it. Ok now about my new line up. I am really trying to decide what to do with my story "I believe in dreaming." Right now it is on hiatus, at least until I know what to do. I'm contemplating deleting it, but if I don't do that then people are going to have to deal with updates being far few and in between. Or I can just keep it up and not update it. The reason why I don't work on that story that much is just because is because it really was my first long story project. Anyway, if you want more information on this topic, go read my profile. I've explained everything. I'm also working on writing a Kingdom hearts fanfiction. I'm planning it, so once its done and if you like kingdom hearts. Read.

P.S. This story has reach over 100 reviews! THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH! and sorry to keep you waiting.


	13. Fear

A/N - see? I told you I would update fast. School is officially over and the year was amazing! That's weird because I normally hate school. Well, maybe that's because I finally got up the courage to tell this boy I like how I feel, and guess what? He likes me back hehe, now I feel like Wendy!

**Sickness of the Heart**

**Chapter 13 - Fear**

By the time Wendy made it back safely, the sun could bearly be seen among the tall pine trees. It took her awhile to lift the bark to the tree house. Not because it was heavy, but because she was fighting the urge to run back to the beach and wade through the water back to the ship. Shaking all those back thoughts from her head, she stepped through the opening.

Through out the whole day, Wendy had this deep sense of panic in the pit of her stomach. Luckily she made it safely down into the underground hideout. She was not going to go against Peters word and go back outside. It took every ounce of will power she had not to. Wendy staggered down the steps, leading to the main room of the cozy interior. The house was still empty, which just gave Wendy more room for worry. No Lost boys, no Tinkerbell, no anyone. The only option was to wait. She went around the house trying to do anything to keep her mind from the words of the pirates and the fact that Peter was still aboard Hooks ship.

The second that worry some thought crossed her mind a sharp pain erupted in Wendy's side causing her hand to involuntarily twitch. The dish in her hand slipped and smashed to the floor into a million pieces. She jumped out of the way to avoid the broken shards. It almost felt as if some invisible force was dragging her down. Her stomach burned violently. Knowing she could no longer stand, she leaned all of her weight against the wall behind her. She let an audible moan escape her lips as she wiped a few stray beads of sweat off her forehead.

_'Pan won't be flyin' from this. Damn sure O' that.'_

Wendy heard the pirates repeat themselves in her head. What do they plan on doing to him? What if they had him now? Wendy pushed herself away from the wall to try to get to her bedroom. A splitting pain shot through her head. Wendy staggered for a few seconds before falling to her knees. She didn't want to be alone ... Not now. Not with all of this happening.

"What's... Happening ... To me?" She whispered into the silence of the house. Finally her mind gave into the heaviness of her body and she hit the floor roughly.

----

'_Please let Wendy be ok, Please let Wendy be ok."_

Was the only thought that crossed Peters mind as he rapidly glided through the dark forest of Neverland. He honestly didn't mean to stay gone for so long but Hook was unable to comprehend the meaning of '_Demand'._ Having a door slammed right in his face was most definitely meaning for war. Peter pounded against the door for a long time, shouting out orders and generally being annoying. Hook didn't give in and after awhile, Peter's fist began to turn a bruised shade of purple. When Hook said that his men were already on shore, Peter couldn't help but feel regret about letting Wendy travel home alone. So, he decided to quickly leave his post and find her.

As he approached Hangman's tree, he noticed the lost boys all walking towards the tree from the other direction. All of them looked worn out from their carefree day of play.

"Have fun today?" Peter asked as he landed.

"Too hot to have to much fun." Nibs got site of Peters bruised fist and asked "What happened?" Peter rubbed at his swollen fist, mentally cursing himself for being to persistent.

"Nothing much." What was done was done, so Peter decided to just shake off the pain and he proceeded to go into the house. When peter and the lost boys made their way down the stairs, they were met with a strange heaviness in the air.

The only light in the house came from a small dimly lit candle in the far corner of the room. The rest was near impossible to see. Peter picked up the only lit candle and used it to light the other ones.

"Wendy!" Peter finally saw the reason the room was so incredibly quiet. Wendy was passed out cold on the floor with the broken plate scattered around her. All of the boys ran to sit by her side. Peter slowly lowered his hand towards Wendy's forehead. As Peter's hand grazed the top of her forehead, Wendy's eyes popped open.

"Your OK!" Nibs nearly shouted. Wendy gave him a weak smile.

"I was jus' a bit tired I guess...mmm fine ..." Wendy's mind wandered once again back to what the pirates had said. She had to tell Peter about this before they got him. "Peter... I need to -" Before Wendy could finish, Peter pressed his finger against her lips.

"You _NEED_ to rest." He said while gently picking Wendy up. Her eyes were much to heavy to resist the tempting warmth coming from Peters body. The last thing Wendy saw was Peter lowering her into her own bed.

----

Wendy sat up quickly in bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Her brain pounded against her skull. It was beginning to drive her slowly insane. The room was dark, most likely because it was still night out. Even with the darkness of the room, it was still so hot and stuffy that it was almost unbearable. Maybe it was just her? One thing was for certain, she needed to get out of that room before she passed out from the heat.

Cautiously, she wandered over to the cloth flap that concealed her room and peered out. The rest of the house was pitch black and the sound of rhythmic snores echoed off the walls. Peter had told her not to go outside without him, but the cool breeze coming from the door only teased her more. besides, it was the middle of the night. Hooks crew couldn't possibly still be on shore. She tiptoed soundlessly up the stone steps and lifted the door of the understand home.

She was immediately hit with a gust of cool air. The night was as beautiful as ever. The moon was always full in Neverland. Tiny fairies darted around the trees, illuminating the thick underbrush. A million stars covered the sky at once. Each one twinkled with a unique radiance all its own. On a wonderful night like this, Wendy could have easily stayed outside all night long. Unfortunately, Peter would eventually find that she had disobeyed his orders and be VERY angry. With a heavy sigh, Wendy turned to go back into the house.

Suddenly a net dropped from the top of the tree, pinning Wendy roughly to the ground. Before she had time to scream, a pair of grease hands covered her mouth, impairing her from all speech. As Wendy kicked and struggled to try and free herself, the most sinister of them all stepped out from the darkness. The metal claw that stood as a reminder for his missing hand gleamed in the moon light.

"Hello again Wendy..." Hook gave a triumphant laugh at Wendy's less-then-pleased expression. The exact expression he wanted her to have when this day came. "Men, take her to the Jolly Roger."

Through the woods Hooks crew went. Billy Jukes was given the honor of carrying a kicking and screaming Wendy all the way to the ship. Poor Wendy was painfully shaken around in an uncomfortably small net. Her splitting headache quickly resurfaced itself under these circumstances; After what seemed like forever and a day, they finally arrived at the lifeboats. The tiny wooden boats slowly made their way towards the infamous Jolly Roger.

By the time Wendy was finally placed on the deck of the pirate vessel, she looked about ready to rip all of them apart limp for limp. Hook finally cut her free.

"What the hell have you got planned Hook?" Wendy just blurted out the first thing that popped into her head, no longer caring about obscenities.

"I think its quite improper for a lady to speak with such a nasty tone." Hook replied in a mocking voice.

"I don't care. What are you going to do to Peter?"

"I don't think those matters concern you. Those Frays are between me and Pan." Wendy gritted her teeth with anger.

"I've had enough of you Hook." Wendy looked behind her towards Hooks sword rack. She pulled from it, the sharpest and longest of the bunch. The metal seemed to weigh a ton in her frail hands. Still, the rush of adrenalin gave Wendy the strength to lift the sword and aim for Hooks throat.

"Gotten braver I see." Hook didn't even flinch at the threat pointed towards him. Wendy's body seem to slowly begin to collapse under the weight of the sword. The only problem was, to anyone else the sword was not even particularly heavy. Her arms just couldn't take the pressure. "No matter how boldly you wield that sword, I see through your fabrication."

"Fabrication... I think not Hook!" Wendy felt the sword begin to slip from her fingers and she quickly grabbed it with her other hand. Hook smirked.

"Then I suppose the mermaids lied to me when they told me you were sick?" Seeing how weak you just are, I dare say they must be telling me the truth."

"I'm ... I'm not sick!" Wendy lied. She thought she was getting better, but with what happened earlier that day, she couldn't help but think her recovery was going nowhere. Anyway, if Hook knew, he would just use it against her. '_Just keep lying, and maybe he'll think it true.'_ She thought to herself.

"The mermaids told me they smelt death looming on the horizon." Hooks crew laughed when they saw Wendy's face turn ghost white.

"The only death here will be you!" Wendy said with false confidence. Her head was filled with fears and worries, but she would not show a drop of weakness to such an evil man. Wendy lifted her sword and brought it down hard on Hook. The pirate effortlessly used his metal claw to block the blow. In the process he knocked Wendy backwards into Mullins. The man caught her and tossed her right back towards their leader.

"Would you care try that again Ms. Darling?"

He watched as Wendy wobbled awkwardly on her feet. She just felt so helpless. She knew there was no way of winning this fight. Normally, Wendy was extremely skilled with a sword. Maybe if her head didn't hurt so bad, or her heart wasn't pounding out of her chest, she could have beaten him. There was no way she could save herself. She needed Peter more then ever now. She let the sword drop onto the wooden surface of the deck. In a panic, she ran to the railing and hollered out into the distance.

"PETER!" Instead of a boy answering, a shining tail and a pale blue face of a women grazed the surface. With its sharp teeth bered, she let out a deafening shriek. The mermaids were hateful and seductive creatures, but now, they were her only hope. Even if they were one of the creatures that hated her most.

"He can't hear you." Hook went to stand beside her. Wendy's eyes traveled up into Hooks forget-me-not blue eyes. Her own eyes held only hostility toward that one man.

"What are you planning Hook? Why did you take me?"

"And ruin the surprise Ms. Darling? I wouldn't even think of it." Hook roughly took Wendy by the arm and held her so tight that it hurt to move. "Jukes! Set out the plank!"

Wendy's eyes opened wide with horror. The thick wooden board was placed between the empty space of the railing. Feeling a tugging at her hands behind her back, she realized another pirate was busy tieing her hands together. She tried to fight back as Hook began to push her body forward towards the plank. Soon she stood on the very edge of the unstable piece of wood.

"What do you want from me?" Wendy frantically cried.

"I want nothing from you. I want Pan." Hook smirked. "You are merely bait."

Wendy let out a small gasp as the plank shook in the wind. Wendy regained posture and focused back on Hook.

"If you wanted Peter, why did you not take him when he was aboard your ship!"

"It would give him too long of an opportunity to get away. The longer he is my prisoner, the more time he has to plan a getaway." Hook shouted back. "Besides, you are my tool. All I must do is lay a finger on you and Peter will do anything to protect you. Even submit to my will." Wendy remained silent. In her heart, she knew that was true. Peter would die for her. Be that good or bad, it was the ultimate for of torture to Peter. With a brave face, Wendy turned her back on Hook. Nothing was on the vast horizon but a wide ocean. No hope at all.

A pang of guilt shot to Wendy's heart. She went against Peters words. She went outside alone when she was told not to. She got _herself_ caught.

'_It's all my fault ... I did this ... It's all my fault ...My father went against Peters word and got banished forever! I don't want to be banished! '_ Wendy said over and over again in her head. Her whole body felt weak Her eyes involuntarily closed and her mind began to shut down.

She began to drop towards the icy ocean.

A/N - Sorry about the cliff hanger, I just had too Hope you enjoyed.


	14. Anger

A/N - Ok, notice anything new? Well, my user name maybe? Yup, I changed my username. it is no longer lilmizzrebel31, it is now OneMoreParadise, why you say? Because it sounded much prettier and I like prettier. Ok, enough of my ranting, on with chapter 14!

**Sickness of the Heart**

**Chapter 14- Anger**

Almost as if an invisible force had shaken him awake, Peters eyes popped open. Something in the air gave him a most unsettling feeling. The silence around him didn't help much either. His room was separated from the rest of the house by nothing but a thin sheet. The strange thing about it was that the sheet moved around in a rhythmic pattern as if it were being pushed by the wind. Coming from behind the sheet, a cool breeze wrapped itself around Peter and pulled him towards the door. As the young prince of Neverland, Peter was given the unique power of the land. When he was happy, it was a hot sunny day. When he was sad, the sky turned black and the rain turned to freezing snow. And when something was wrong elsewhere on the island, the land in some way subtle way, alerted him of the problem.

Feeling the gust of wind wrap itself around his thin frame, he stood from the bed and decided to follow it. The wind led him into the hall where the Lost boys slept peacefully, but it didn't stop there. It kept sweeping across the flap of Wendy's room. When peter refused to step into the room (With the obvious reason being he was a boy and should not just step into a girls room) a violent gust of wind spun around the flap, lifting it completely to reveal that Wendy was gone.

"Gone!" Peter shouted.

"What's gone?" Peter heard a small voice ask. He turned quickly on his heel to see Tootles standing behind him. The youngest of the group rubbed the sleep from his eyes

"Nothing." Peter began looking around the house frantically for a sign . Another wind swept through the room. This time it directed his eyes to land on the open front door. Peter leaned down to rest a hand on Tootles shoulder. "I've got to go, be good and go back to sleep." Peter stood and flew for the door.

"Where are you going!" Tootles tiny voice called out behind him, but Peter didn't hear him. He was already gone.

Even with Peters' uncanny ability of the very world around him, he didn't know everything that happened, but there was one creature that did. The pale skinned creatures living beneath the waters knew for Peter. Being seductive creatures by nature, they enjoyed Peters' frequent male company. Each one enjoyed trying to charm the boy in it's own unique way. Often times, all the eyelash batting and blushing got on his very last nerves, but they also loved to listen to Peter gloat about himself. Which was one of the things the eternal youth did best.

Peter landed on the edge of the mermaids lagoon. He pulled out his panpipes. The mermaids were a creature easily lured in by music. So Peter put the wooden instrument up to his lips and began to play a soft tune he had once heard Wendy hum while she worked around the house. Just as expected, the pale blue face of a women popped up close to the rocky edge of the lagoon.

"Sweet song Master Pan." The mermaid clicked. "One from the throat of that girl I presume." To anyone else, the mermaids only talked in a series of clicks and shrieks, but Peter understood their words as if they spoke in human tongue.

"Actually, she's the reason I'm here." Peter leaned down closer to the water. "Where is she?"

"That pesky little girl, she disobeyed you. Why do you still pursue her?" The women placed a webbed hand over Peters hand and stroked it. Peter raised his eyebrow.

"Disobeyed me?" He asked.

"Yes, that rotten girl snuck out of the house and got herself captured by Hook." She said with a smirk. "But your too good for that wench anyway." The mermaid slowly began to dip his hand into the frigid waters. Trying to get him to follow her to a watery death. Teasing him in a way she knew never worked.

"No!" Peter pulled his hand away.

"Well fine, pursue the girl, but I'd hurry. Hook pulled out the plank not to long ago." With that, the jealous women dove back into the murky waters while Peter set his sites on his new destination.

----

"Now what Cap'n? The little wench fell. Gone!"

"Pan will come." Hook replied simply. He watched as the girls body descended quickly. Soon enough, Wendy hit the water and disappeared into it's depths.

The coldness of the water sent an immediate shock to her body which caused her eyes to fly open. Her vision was immediately blurred by the dark waters around her. She pumped her arms to try to get to the surface but the water seeped into the fabric of her dress, weighing her down. She couldn't possibly hold her breath much longer. She opened her mouth but the air was replaced with water which began to fill her lungs.

"Hook!" Peter landed on the deck behind Hook.

"Show time..." Hook whispered to himself. He had gone through this plan in his head time and time again. Peter was by far a very predictable hero. That was one thing Hook knew well. In his head, he already had all of Peters actions planned out. Now it just took the right acting on his own part. It was time for the show to begin.

"Where is she?" Peter immediately questioned.

"Your a little late Pan." Hook gestured over towards the plank. "She's already gone." Peter drew his dagger that he kept safety at his hip and walked cautiously past Hook to the railing. Peter watched the water carefully for any signs that may have proven Hooks' words true. Suddenly a bubble of air floated to the top of the water

"Wendy!" Peter jumped over the railing and dove into the water. The pirates held their breaths, watching the water closely just as Peter had. Suddenly Peter broke the surface with a blue faced unconscious girl in his arms. He landed back on the deck and set her down gently.

"Is she ok?" Peter leaned down to her and whispered in a very nervous, childlike voice.

"See here boy..." Hook walked to Peters side and pointed to her rising and falling chest. "She's still breathing." Hook saw a faint smile appear on Peters face. One that disappeared as fast as it came.

"This is all your fault!" Peter turned sharply on Hook with his dagger raised.

"Is it my fault Wendy disobeyed you?" Hook drew his own sword from its sheath and pressed it against Peters dagger. "Does it remind you of everyone Pan? That other abomination of yours? Berry, I think it was."

"She is nothing like him!" In the back of Peters mind, he couldn't help but think that Wendy and her fathers past betrayal were just vaguely similar. But that mattered very little in Peter's book. Peter threw in a quick swing of his dagger, only to have it blocked. Hook hovered above Peter with his sword pressed against Peter's dagger.

"Give up Pan."

"Never!" Peter thrust forward, throwing Hook off balance.

"Well then, shall we?" Hook held out his sword in a challenge pose.

"We shall." Peter ran towards Hook with his dagger held out proudly in front of him.

----

"Nibs! Slightly! Wake up!" Tootles jumped up and down on two lumps under the covers.

"Go away, 's not even mornin' yet." One of them responded.

"Twins! Curly! Come on guys!" Tootles attempted to shake curly awake.

"Go back to sleep Tootles." Was the only response he got.

"But guys, Peter left!"

"What!" At that, the other boys popped up.

"Wendy's gone too!" Tootles shouted frantically. Curly smiled and wrapped a lazy arm around the young boys tiny body.

"It's nothing to worry about. You see Tootles, Wendy and Peter are in luuuuve!" He said in a sappy voice. "and when two people are in love, they go off alone and -"

"Curly!" Slightly hit Curly over the head before he had a chance to say anything inappropriate for such young ears.

"But Peter looked worried, and Wendy never left with him!"

"Well then, What are we waiting for? Lets go!" Nibs gestured towards the open door.

----

Peter's moves were fast and swift, but Hook moved much faster. In the time between now and Wendys' last visit, Peter could tell Hook had been training for this moment. Not only that, but he had indeed grown stronger. Peter occasionally flew into the air to avoid a swing, but Hook knocked him right back down. Peter grasped onto a nearby barrel and pulled himself up. Suddenly, he felt the cold hard bottom of Hooks boot roughly make contact with his back. Feeling a sickening crack, Peter found himself right back down on the floor of the deck. Hook crew did nothing but watch while these two enemies were engaged in battle. Peter didn't give up easily. he once again stood up.

"Peter!" Several boys called out from the horizon.

"Seize them!" Hook yelled while continuing to swing at Peter. The second the lost boys landed on the deck of the Jolly Roger, they were captured by several of Hooks crew members.

"Let them go Hook!" Peter yelled.

Hook delivered a blow to Peter that sent him backwards into a post on the ship. Peters hands went up to comfort the back of his bruised head as he collapsed by the post. Hook saw his opportunity. As Peter lay against the post in obvious pain, Hook went to stand right in Peters' path. Peter looked down at the heavy black boot before averting his gaze up into the menacing eyes of his enemy. Peter couldn't help but have the unsettling feeling of Vulnerability. With Wendy unconscious and the lost boys captured, Peter couldn't come up with any happy thoughts. Not only that, but now he was badly hurt. He pulled his fingers from the back of his head to see they were covered in a red sticky liquid.

Sometimes Hook forgot that Peter was nothing but a child. Peter was a master sword fighter and had snide remarks down to an art form. But when Peter looked up at Hook with his big wet helpless blue eyes, Hook was reminded he was only facing down a child. Still, this same _'child' _held no qualms in taking a razor sharp sword and slashing it straight through his flesh. No matter how innocent Peter's gaze may have looked, Hook wasn't about to back down on this child.

"Are you ready to meet your end Peter Pan?" As a response to Hooks threat, Peter closed his eyes, bracing himself for the oncoming blow.

In the dark forgotten corner of the ship, the pale girl laying unconscious slowly began to regain some of the lost color in her face. The blood coursing through her veins began to heat up. The invisible weight that seemed to be holding her eyes shut seemed to loosen up. Coming back to the world, Wendy blinked several times.

'_Are you ready to meet your end Peter Pan?'_

She faintly heard. Of course, she couldn't hear much, water still clogged much of her ear. As she sat up, the world spun around her. '_Peter!'_ Wendy saw Hook, standing over Peter with his weapon raised.

"Hook no!" She stood up on shaky feet and ran towards the scene.

"Wendy!" Peter shouted out with a brief moment of happiness. Then he realized she was in danger. If she came close enough, Hook would have her! "Wendy no! Stay back!" Hooks crew members granted his wishes in their own twisted ways. They grabbed her and held her roughly at knife point. "Leave her alone Hook! It's me you want, not her!"

Hook let out a laugh, looking at Wendy desperately try to edge away from the knifes edge. "Oh but Pan, Wendy is the biggest part of my plan." Hook prodded at Peter's bare foot with his boot. "You see Pan, if you don't surrender, your precious Wendy will be no more. So Peter, you have a decision to make. Continue your hopeless fight for your freedom or give it all up to save your Wendy?"

Peter looked over at Wendy who, at this point, had tears streaming down her face. The girl slowly shook her head.

"I'm sorry Peter..." She choked back more oncoming tears.

**A/N** - Ok, end of chapter 14. This is just a warning to everyone, but chapter 15 will most likely be a bit on the short side. Mostly because its just a filler chapter, its going to be a lot more on the characters emotions other then storyline. Trust me, its much needed. Also chapter 16 may be short as well, I don't know, I haven't written that one yet. Also, the Lost boys have a reason for coming (two reasons in fact) the didn't just fly in to get captured.

And now for my own plug, I am writing a Kingdom hearts story that should be posted either later today or tomorrow. So if anyone reading is a Kingdom Hearts fan , I would appreciate it if you would check it out


	15. Loss

**A/N **- This chapter depressed me to write. Like I said in the last chapter, this one will be a short filler chapter dealing mostly with emotions (AKA the whole point of this story if you already didn't figure this out from the chapter titles) I actually teared up just a little from writing it. Maybe that was just because I was also listening to the song "Isn't something missing" by Evanescence. I always tear up during that song, So if you really want to get the feeling I had while writing this chapter, try listening to that song while reading. Trust me, you'll see the connection.

**Sickness of the Heart**

**Chapter 15 - Loss**

Peter finally saw the game Hook was playing at. He saw the way Hook was using Wendy against him. He saw the evil gleam in his eye as he made Peter make such a fatal decision. His own freedom or Wendy's safety. Peter looked into Wendy's tear stained face. He knew if he made the decision for his own safety, Hook would give a single order and the sharp metal would immediately be run through Wendy's neck.

Flashes of the dream Peter had long ago popped into his head. Still after so long, he saw the images so very vividly. Even the sound were vivid. The piercing scream in the night air. The sticky red liquid that tainted his pale skin. But the thing that he remembered the most was the sinking feeling that he got when he realized his only love was gone from the world forever. Ruthlessly killed by the edge of a knife. Even if it was but a dream, that was the most broken he had ever felt in his life.

He had almost lost Wendy to the cruel waters of Neverland. He was never going to let her die by the hands of Hooks crew. Even if that meant giving up his own life to Hooks unjust deeds. He never wanted to experience that horrible sense of uselessness again.

Hook awaited anxiously for Peters' answer. To Hooks surprise, Peter took a long time to answer a question Hook was sure Peter knew an immediate answer to. Either way Hook would get what he most desired. If Peter chose to save Wendy, Hook would have peter under his control. If he chose his own freedom, Wendy would be killed, thus killing Peter internally. Free for Hook to turn into his own lifeless puppet.

Finally, Peter used strength he thought he had lost to stand up to full height. Unfortunately, his full height only reached a little below Hooks chin. Not all to intimidating. Suddenly the air grew quiet. Tension on the ship rose to an all time high as Peter's answer was about to be revealed...

Wendy hated the cold burn of metal against her neck. It made her feel so helpless. Almost as if all her power was lost. Of course, that was how she had felt for the past year, nothing but helpless. At her fathers business party, as a wave of nausea hit her and she fell into unconsciousness, she felt helpless. When the nurse came into her room, held her cold hands and slowly told her she was dying, she felt helpless. When her father denied Neverland and Peter Pans existence, she felt helpless. It was an emotion she was used to, but she hated it with a passion, Now, as she waited for Peters answer, se felt helpless.

She wanted Peter safe and unharmed, but she came to Neverland to try to escape death. She shook her head. It would be awfully selfish of her to tell Peter to try to save her instead of himself. Suddenly, Peter stood and Wendy held her breath. An eternity passed as Peter struggled to find the right words.

"Let Wendy go Hook!" Peter said firmly. Hook smirked.

"Have it your way Pan." Hooks crew member who held tightly to Wendy, dropped the sword upon the deck.

"No Peter! You can't give yourself to Hook!" She couldn't deny the fact that she was happy to come out alive, but now what was to become of the famous Peter Pan? Was the eternal youth just going to give up that easily? Wendy looked over to Peter. The eternal youth looked back at her with emptiness in his eyes. The spark in them were gone. The fighting spirit in him was gone as well. The distant look on Peter's face made Wendy wonder just what peter was thinking. Whatever it was, it was the cause of Peters' sudden decision to just give up the fight

"Just go Wendy." Peter said suddenly. "I won't let you get you get hurt."

"Well, I won't let you get hurt either!" Wendy shouted back. " What are you doing? Why are you giving up?"

Peter's mind flashed back to his dream. He needed to get her out of here as soon as possible. He wasn't about to loose her.

"You heard me Hook, let her go!"

"Not without a little... reassurance." Hook wandered over to where Wendy was still being held captive. He pulled from his coat a vile containing a clear translucent liquid. Hook roughly grabbed Wendy by the hair and pulled her body to his, receiving a little squeak from Wendy. Peter lunged for them when he saw Wendy being hurt. Another pirate grabbed him before he was able to get to them.

"Calm yourself Pan." Hook reassured him. "For the past year, I have done naught but think of a plan to have what you have Pan and it is almost complete. The only threat from me that seems to faze you is when Wendy is in danger. So this... " Hook held up the vile. "is the danger that will keep you obedient." Hook took the vile and put it to Wendy's warm lips. He quickly poured the contents of the vile into Wendy's mouth, forcing the girl to swallow against her will. She quickly began to cough at the horrid taste of the concoction.

"What did you do to her?" Peter yelled out.

"The potion is non effective as long as you stay obedient." Hook slowly made his way over to his second desk which he kept on deck. He picked up a book laying on top it labeled, _Curses of Neverland._ " A little something I learned from this book that I swiped from the fairies. I give a single command that you are being disobedient and the potion then goes into effect." Peter averted his eyes towards the ground. Now things really seemed hopeless for him and possibly Wendy if he didn't act to Hooks approval.

"What will it do to her?" Peter once again reverted to using his childlike voice.

"Kill her." Hook said very quickly and nonchalantly. Peter wasn't all to surprised by Hooks answer.

"Peter no ... Don't do this..." Wendy said under her breath. Peter heard her plea and shook his head.

"Just go home Wendy." The girl was released from the pirates grasp but she stood hard as a stone, absolutely refusing to move.

"I'm not leaving." She protested. Peter let out a sigh and turned to where the lost boys stood.

"Tink, I know your in there." A small ball of light darted out of Nib's pocket and flew close to Peter's face. The two exchanged some quick last words. Tinerbell wanted desperately for Peter to fight Hook, but even his most trusted friend could not get him to fight at this point. The pixie let her head drop. She too lost much of her confidence once Peter gave up. She obeyed the orders given to her and flew over to Wendy. Tinkerbell took some dust she stored in her pocket and blew the mixture into Wendy's face. She stood there for a moment, completely stunned. Then a sudden wave of drowsiness overtook her body and she fell backwards into the arms of the lost boys.

"Take her home... and take good care of her..." Peter gave the Lost boys their final command. All he told Tinkerbell to do was put her to sleep using the same dust she had used on Peter to get him to give in to sleep awhile ago. This way, she would be in a peaceful sleep while Peter bowed to Hook. That was the last thing Peter wanted her to witness. He knew they didn't want to leave at a time like this, but they never went against Peter's orders either. As of now, it all came down to trust. Peter watched as the boys reluctantly flew off with Wendy in their arms.

Peter turned to Hook with his arms spread wide to reveal his bare chest.

"If you want to kill me, Have it your way. I'm ready Hook." Instead of striking Peter, Hook laughed at him.

"I have no intentions on killing you." Hook said to a disbelieving Peter. "However... We can't have you escaping now can we?"

Hooks crew took that as their signal to take Peter to the holding cell below the deck. Peter followed without a struggle. A walk down the bleak halls that seemed to take ages upon ages. The farther the pirates took him, the darker it grew. Finally they arrived at a small room enclosed by metal bars. They roughly threw Peter into the cell and turned to leave.

Once the cell door was closed and there were no more signs of the pirates, Peter leaned against the cold metal bars, This place was just so ... hopeless. Everything was dark, dismal and small. The silence was quickly getting on his bad side. It was the kind of silence one would rip their nails out over. Maybe that's exactly what Hook wanted. Maybe he wanted to reduce Peter into nothing but a lifeless shell by mean of solitary confinement. The thought of him being nothing but Hooks puppet was very disheartening. Peter slid down the wall and landed on the cold ground. He let tears run freely down his face. He drew his legs in close to his chest and put his head between them. _"For the past year, I have done naught but think of a plan to have what you have Pan and it is almost complete."_

What did Hook mean by those words? Peter angrilly banged his head on the wall behind him. He didn't really care at this point that it only did more damage then good. He hated being alone. He wanted someone beside him. Someone to break the silence that discomforted him and tell him everything would be ok, even though he knew it wasn't. _'What does Hook want that I have?' _Peter asked himself. As of now, Peter had nothing Hook could want. He had absolutly nothing. Not even Wendy was here with him.

Dejectedly, peter peeled some rust off of the metal bars and flicked it to the ground. He had finally lost everything that made him who he was.

**A/N - **Damn... that just killed me to write Peter so angsty. Its like someone just stabbed my inner five year old XD Anyway, I warned you of the shortness. Even though it was short, I think it was very powerful. Especially the end, don't you think? I'm really proud of the end. Another announcement... The story is almost over! can you believe it? I've been writing this story for a year and its almost over! Only three more chapter. I will actually be sad when it over. I got so used to writing it.

And now... -sniffle- I need some chocolate and happy music to bring my inner five year old back from the dead.

OnemoreParadise: WAKE UP LITTLE BUDDY! PETERS JUST ALITTLE ... UPSET!

Inner five year old: Pffth... ok

Onemoreparadise: Your alive!

Inner five year old: Yes... and you promised me chocolate... So hand it over!

onemoreparadise: Why do I have such a mean inner five year old?

Inner five year old: You made me that way ...

Onemoreparadise: ... right...


	16. Cold

**A/N **- This chapter means everything to this story. . . Not much else to say. The most important chapter really. The beginning is sort of slow, but the end it ... well, I'll just let you read.

Just as a warning, there will be blood. Not much, but I do like to warn people since I know I too like to be warned about that type of stuff.

Another important note. Only three more chapters to this story. Once you are done reading this chapter, I would appreciate it if you answer my question in the authors note at the bottom. Thank you and enjoy.

**Sickness of the Heart**

**Chapter 16 - Cold**

The small holding cell had one undersized window up by the ceiling. Unfortunately, this sorry excuse for a window provided an insufficient amount of light. The moons afterglow hardly provided enough light. Most of it was hidden behind clouds anyway. It was just enough to illuminate a corner of the cold wood that loosely covered the floor. The only hope in such a dismal place was the long hallway leading to the cell. At the other end, a door was cracked open so that a light breeze could cool Hook's prisoners. Apparently, it worked a little too well for Peter.

Laying against the cold wall in a dormant state, the famous youth had his legs pressed tightly to his chest in an attempt to warm his sleeping body. Freezing gusts of night wind kept sweeping through the hall, causing the sleeping form to shiver violently. A few clouds that were hovering over the moon parted, allowing the dim light to shine a little brighter. Peters' eyes blinked several times as the new light filtered through his dark eyelashes.

He let a light moan escape his chapped lips as he sat up, suddenly remembering where he was. For all Peter knew, he could have been stuck in that god forsaken cell for hours on end. Even after a period of rest, his head still pounded with a lingering headache. His whole body ached with it. Visible bruises and caked blood ran along places where Hook's weapon pierced through Peters' skin. Peter threw his head back in disgust, wondering why he let Hook do this to him, no... Wondering why he let Hook do this to Wendy. He wondered what happened to '_Peter Pan' _. The hero. The brave boy who never gave up the fight. Then his mind settled on something. The dream, He was so afraid that it would turn out true that he was willing to surrender himself. That's when he truly began to wonder, Hook somehow knew to threaten him with the exact image of what was in his dream. That was impossible though. He only told his dream to the Lost boys, certainly they haven't told a soul. How would Hook know of Peter's dreams unless he...

The corners of Peters' mouth turned down. He clenched his hands into fists, adrenaline pumping through his every vein. For the first time in a long time, he felt like himself again. He welcomed the feeling of wanting to take action. The only problem that hindered that was that he was trapped.

Using the back wall as support, Peter pushed himself up to a full stand. His legs wobbled dangerously as he let out a few labored breaths.

"Hook!" She screamed at the top of his lungs. His throat was dry and scratchy from lack of water. "I know what you did! That damn book and those damn spells you've been throwing around!" Peter resorted to using language he heard Wendy use when she pricked her finger on a sewing needle. Wendy told him not to say it to anyone for the reason that it's offensive, but right now, thats exactly what Peter wanted to be towards Hook. "You gave me those dreams didn't you! You knew what would happen!" Peter shouted to the ceiling, knowing it lead to one of the upper rooms. He was ready for Hook now. If the dreams truly were planted by Hooks' spells, then he was ready to face him.

"Answer me!"

Hook sat in his privet quarters with his nose stuck once again in his favorite book. Favorite, only because it was sending Peter's life into a fast downward spiral. He was definitely not oblivious to what was going on below deck. Peter was making such a racket down there that everyone on the ship was probably able to hear him loud and clear. He knew Peter was no fool, naive, but no fool. Just as he expected, Peter was clever enough to figure out all of his horrid nightmares were planted with the utterance of one little spell. It was nothing more then a way to frighten Peter and it worked. Unfortunately for peter, he was realizing all of this too late. The horrible deed was almost finished and Hook would have what Peter had.

"Smee!" Hook alerted the stout pirate who was working diligently in the corner. When Hook broke the silence Smee jumped, nearly knocking over several bottles that were scattered around him.

"Y-Yes Cap'n?" He caught a bottle containing a heavy green liquid, before it fell to the floor.

"Is it ready? Young Mr. Pan is getting anxious." Hook heard a loud bang on the walls of the lower chambers. Now that Peter had figured out about his little trick, it was no doubt he was extremely ill-tempered, maybe even resorting back to his old habit of being a persistent brat.

"I'd give it another hour a'least Cap'n." Hook growled in frustration. He heard another loud bang, this time against the floor right beneath him. At this point, he thought it would just be fun to go down and antagonize him from inside the cell. He could do no damage from in there.

"Smee... be sure that potion is finished. Alert me when it is complete."

"Where ye goin' Cap'n?"

"To give Pan a bit of company."

----

On her full sized bed, Wendy lay in a troubled sleep. Mostly tossing and turning about. The strange things was that it was a dreamless sleep. Her body was most likely trying to fight off the sleep that had been rudely forced upon her. Finally the magic that bind her began to lift as she felt herself drift into consciousness. Her body ached all over and she had a horrible sense of nausea floating around her head. As she sat up in bed, she pressed one hand on her forehead, which was quite warm. A searing pain seemed to resonate from her neck. She used her other hand to touch the pained area. The second her fingers came in contact, a stinging sensation shot through her body, causing her hand to draw back.

A small amount of blood stained her fingers. It was most likely caused by that sword that pirate held to her neck. Luckily it was nothing worth worrying about. A few simple bandages would do the trick. Sullenly, she rested her head against the back board of her bed, remembering that Peter was still a prisoner aboard the Jolly Roger.

"Shut up Curly, do you want Wendy to hear?" Wendy's ears perked up at the sound of her name. She heard some incoherent voices mumbling something coming from the main room. At first she didn't want to come across as rude for eavesdropping, but she did have a right to know what someone was trying to keep from her. Especially when those people were her own boys. She stood from her bed, immediately feeling weak at the knees. She crouched down by the flap of her door so she could hear better.

"What will Hook do to him?" A voice Wendy recognized as Curly spoke up.

"I would say kill him, but if that was his plan, he would have done it by now and trust me, we would know." This time, it was Peters second in command, Nibs, who spoke up.

"What would happen?" The Twins asked in unison.

"Neverland would cease to exist. Along with it, we will perish too. Since Peter's magic is what holds Neverland together, if he dies... it dies too..." Several of the lost boys gasped. Wendy too put a hand to her mouth to stop herself from making any noise. "But I don't think that's his goal. Like I said before, he would have done it by now. He may be even planning something worse."

"Worse then death?" Slightly replied almost sarcastically.

"Peter doesn't fear death. Only the deaths of others who he holds dear. It wouldn't be a suiting form of revenge." There was a long, drawn out silence between them all. Most likely they all were silently trying to come up with an answer to what Peter would consider _'worse then death'_ . Wendy fell backwards into a sitting position and drove the heels of her hands into her closed eyes. She didn't want to have to fear the worst for Peter, but that became near impossible with the given situation.

'_What if Hook is planning on killing Peter? We would all cease to exist. Even Hook... All of us would die.' _She pounded her head in frustration. '_That doesn't matter much to me anyway... or at least it shouldn't. I'm still sick! Neverland has done nothing for me. Maybe... I was just destined to die young... maybe...'_

"No... There has to be something else." Wendy whispered to herself. Her thoughts once again wandered to what Peter must be going through at that very second. Whatever it was, it probably outweighed her dilemma.

----

When Hook refused to respond to Peter's angry rants about cruel trickery, he resorted to painfully ramming his body against the ceiling. If Hook went against answering, someone was bound to hear the noise and come down. Luckily, before Peters back was too damaged, the door at the end of the hallway shot open, hitting the back wall roughly.

"Evening Pan." Hook said casually, his hook gleaming dangerously in the dim light.

"You!" Peter pressed his face hard against the metal bars. "You gave me those nightmares didn't you?"

"Very clever Pan. You learn quickly."

"Your evil and cruel Hook!" Peter could do nothing but throw words at him since the bar served as an unfair barrier.

"Shame, I would have thought that little wench taught you some manners by now." Peter growled in anger at Hooks choice of name for Wendy.

"Never call her that!" Hook didn't look the least bit frightened. Who would be? Peter was reduced to nothing more then a young boy behind bars. Hook laughed to himself, causing Peter to grit his teeth, trying best not to call Hook any more offensive names.

"Look at this, the famous Peter Pan. Trapped. A prisoner to the infamous Captain James Hook."

"I'll never be your prisoner. I will escape just as before." Peter proudly put his hands on his hips, showing off his newfound hope.

"Oh, you haven't forgotten about that little potion I slipped Wendy did you?" Peter shrunk back a little. he had, in all honesty, completely forgot about that potion. If he were to make a getaway it wouldn't matter anyway. His escape would be in vein. Wendy would die and it would be his fault. He averted his strong gaze away from Hook.

'_but there must be a way... '_ Peter thought. He didn't want to loose his hope as fast as it came. At this point, it was all he had.

"Cap'n Hook, Cap'n Hook!" Smee ran down the hall leading to Peter's cell. One hand holding the vile of green liquid. "It's done Cap'n." Smee threw an dangerous look at Peter. Almost as if it were a silent warning. Smee had never been a cruel man. Sometimes even helping Peter out of jams (though he cleverly disguised it as an accident). Too bad he was one of Hooks most loved crew members.

"Mr. Smee... Would you and Jukes kindly escort Pan to the deck?" Hook smirked at peter one last time before leaving him to his companion, vile in hand.

----

"Are we just going to sit here, or are we going to do something.?" Finally Slightly asked the question that was surly on all the Lost boys and Wendys' mind. Nibs took the longest deep breath Wendy had ever seen. Then Nibs lowered his gaze to a map of Neverland and feathered quills.

"We can't just plunge into action. This need careful planning."

"But we must do something fast!" The twins argued. Wendy agreed with them. She knew Nibs took his leadership role quite seriously, but something had to be done now, not whenever he could think of something that was suitable for him. Still, she wondered what exactly Nibs had up his sleeve.

"Remember... It's all up to us now. If Peter tries to assist us, Hook will give the word and Wendy is gone." Wendy put her hand over her heart. She had completely forgotten about the dreadful stuff Hook shoved down her throat. Now with that extra baggage added on, it would take the Lost boys twice as long to come up with a successful plan. Wendy scrunched her brow in deep thought... What if... Peter wasn't rescued... yet, Hook wasn't in the picture anymore. If that was at all possible , then Wendy had the perfect plan. If Hook wasn't around anymore... Then there would be no one there to give that dreadful signal. Also, Peter could escape without worrying. The problem was, she doubted the Lost boys would allow her to take place in their plan. Besides that, they seemed to wrapped up in trying to come up with a plan of their own.

"You can't be serious! That will never work!"

"Oh yeah, I bet you can't come up with anything better!"

"Just watch me!" Slightly forcefully pulled the quill from Nibs fingers and started to draw on the map paper. Wendy rolled her eyes at how one moment they could be the picture of maturity then move right back to their boyish habits of bickering.

That was beyond the point, the Lost boys were now out of the picture. It was all up to her. She ran to her small wooden desk that held all of her possessions she brought from home. Wendy unbuttoned her wet nightgown, tossing it off over her head, and exchanged it for a pure white sleeveless sun dress that reached down to her ankles. She decided it was best to go barefoot since shoes were to weighted down. She wrapped her brown leather hilt around her sun dress and tucked one of Peter's sharpest swords safely by her side. Finally, she took a white, medium length ribbon from her jewelry box and used it to tie back her messy curls.

For her, it was quite easy to sneak past the Lost boys unnoticed. They were all now resorting to physically attacking each other to decide who's plan was better. They paid absolutely no attention to the girl tiptoeing past them towards the entrance.

Wendy looked up past the dense forest top up to the dark and now very cloudy night sky. She wasn't as strong as she used to be. She actually hadn't flown in a long time. Peter had forbid her to unless it was an emergency. Flying had become a very tedious activity, and it was a long ways to Hooks ship...

----

Just as Hook ordered, the door to the cell was unlocked and Peter was to be escorted to the deck. Surprisingly, Peter didn't put up a fight, he walked calmly beside Smee and Jukes down the long hallway and finally onto the moonlit deck. On deck, Hook was already waiting for peter at the very head of the ship, holding the same vile of green liquid Peter saw Smee holding.

"Pan." Hook said politely, bowing to his enemy.

"Hook." Peter returned the favor in a serous business-like voice as his escorts backed away to give the two room. Peter had already made up his mind. He would show Hook no fear. He would take whatever Hook decided to throw at him with a blank expression on his face. That way, he wouldn't be letting himself down, nor would he be putting Wendy in harms way. "Finally got me, don't you?" Peter held his head high and puffed his chest out. Yet his expression held no inner meaning.

"I would think you would be more... upset... or maybe...afraid?"

"Who me? No Way!" Peter said quite casually, a flicker of a grin tugging at the corners of his lips. He resisted the urge.

"Really now? Surely you are upset about Wendy. She is sick. I could tell by the way she wielded her sword." Peter only stared intensely at him. He too had figured out Wendy was still sick, even though she never said anything to him about it. That alone was a hard thing to deal with. Even though he practically wanted to shout, '_Yes, I'm afraid Wendy's going to die!'_ or just plain scream, he shook his head no in a relatively calm manner.

"You can't use Wendy against me anymore Hook." Peter said through his teeth. Hook shrugged.

"Then I have one last question for you Pan." Peter raised his eyebrow, curious as to what question Hook would have for him. "Why is it that Wendy loves you so?" Peter opened his mouth to answer, but promptly shut it when he realized he didn't know the answer. It was never really something he thought of. It just... was. "Is it your immaturity?" Hook began to circle Peter as he questioned. "Or maybe it's your natural charm?" Peter smiled his cocky grin at that.

Hook strode closer to Peter, pulling him closer by his upper arm. Immediately giving Peter an uncomfortable feeling.

"Or maybe it's your powers?" Hook held Peter tightly around his upper arm with his metal claw. In this position, if peter yanked his arm away, it would be sliced by that awful contraption. His regular hand wrapped around Peter's neck as he dangles the green vile in front of his face.

"My powers?" Peter frowned at Hook.

"You fly without the assistance of fairies, talk in the tongue of strange creatures, and sense things beyond anyones wildest imagination." Hook popped the cork top of the vile with his thumb, teasing Peter's nose with it's sweet scent. It almost had a soothing aroma to it.

"Where are you going with this?" Peter eyed the bottle. Hook positioned the vile so that it sat on the base of Peters' lower lip. Peter squirmed underneath Hooks heavy weight, unable to get away. Trapped between Hook and the potion. Peter pursed his lips together to try to keep the liquid out.

"She's dying Pan!" Hook screamed at him while trying to pry his mouth open.

'_No.' _Peter thought. He couldn't even open his mouth to protest.

"Slowly but surely."

'_Stop it!'_

"And soon you'll be all alone."

"STOP!" Peter opened his mouth wide, not being able to withstand Hooks words. As a result, Hook managed to slip a good deal of the potion down his throat. unfortunately for him, Peter closed his mouth before he was able to get it all in. Peter swallowed the disgusting drink out of panic.

Suddenly, Peter felt sick. The colors and textures around him seemed to blend together before his eyes. His knees were slowly beginning to give out on him. Hook let go of him and let him stumble backwards. Peter's knees finally gave in and he tripped over a bucket. His heart practically pounding out of his chest. The ground on the beach crack and disheveled throwing the ocean into a series of dangerously high waves. The Neverland forest withered and died right on spot. Palm trees slumped over and turned a rotten brown color. The soft green grass turned prickly.

"W-what's happening to me... wha-" Peter couldn't even think clearly. His mind went into a frenzy of random thoughts and memories. Familiar voices and places. He felt as if he were quickly loosing something... Something important, but he wasn't able to put his finger on it. Something was definitely being ripped from him.

"It's draining those powers of yours, and slowly transferring them to me." Hook said in a cold uncaring voice as Peters face drained of all color. All of a sudden, it was unbearably hot, yet, his blood ran as cold as ice. "Now lets finish this shall we?" Before Peter could even make sense of what as happening, Hook was slowly advancing on him, holding in his hand, the remainder of the draining potion. To weak to fly, peter closed his eyes and braced himself for the worst. He braced himself to be ripped from everything that made him special. Everything that made him who he was. He felt Hooks dark presence standing over him. All he could think was '_This is it...'_

Bitter sweet silence...

All of time Froze... And then... a sickening scream.

Hands quickly clasped tightly over his small ears.

All the blood in his body ran down to his feet.

The hair on the back of his neck stood on end...

Eyes shut tight... Escaping tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

He tasted blood in his mouth as his teeth bit down hard on his tongue...

He drew his hands from his ears...

Static... That's all there was... A heavy static...

All the voices around him began to fade out. Fade into the static that clogged his ears.

Every cut and bruise on his body responded with a sharp burning sensation...

Yet, he felt so numb. He knew something was happening beyond his closed eyes. Something that wasn't supposed to be happening, but it was anyway.

He told himself the dream was caused by Hook... but whatever was happening beyond his closed eyes felt so similar... an it scarred him.

'_Please... Make it stop...'_ Something hit his face. A warm liquid hit his face.

As if nothing happened... it stopped. The static faded to reveal voices. Upon opening his eyes, Peter saw a young girl in a blood stained white dress holding an equally blood stained sword.

The girl swayed on her feet before collapsing into Peter's arms. She lay half crying with an accomplished grin on her face. Peter scanned the deck... Many pirates coward in a corner while others lay lifeless on the deck. Finally Peter saw why the others hide. One pirate lay face down on the deck. Blood pouring from a sword sized wound in his back... a broken vile spilling green liquid lay not to far.

... Hook was dead.

**A/N - **ummm... three more chapters left (I think that's right) So I would like to know, I have a notebook where I write down all the questions I want to be answered in the story, I think in the next three chapters all these questions will be answered, but just in case, I would like it if you all took the time to write in your reviews any and all questions you still have that you want answered by the last chapter. I just want to be sure I leave nothing out! So** PLEASE DO THIS **

About the chapter... My Inner five year old is suffering trauma... she loved Hook (and so did I XD)


	17. Pain

**A/N **- Ummm... I don't know. Nothing to really say. My life is boring so... That's about it XD

**Sickness of the Heart**

**Chapter 17 - Pain**

The whole thing was a giant blur. Peters' eyes were shut tight the whole time. Mentally blocking out the horrid sights and sound. No one could blame him. Who would want to witness a death before their very eyes unless you were a sadist. To him it almost seemed like his own body was trying to protect him by producing something to block out all of the unwanted noise. He felt weak and sick to his stomach as he sat with his head down between his knees. Why he felt so exhausted was one thing he didn't know. It wasn't like he fought or anything. Surprisingly, he was quite calm the whole time.Well, up until now. He was amazed at how one second he was more then sure he was done for, and the next thing he knew, the tables had completely turned. It was a funny thing if you really think about it. Suddenly he was reminded that he was not alone when he felt a heavy weight in his arms. Wendy lay in his arms, fully conscious, yet was breathing heavily.

Peter felt a horrid bile building up in the back of his throat. Laying beyond the rusted bucket he tripped over earlier his greatest enemy, Captain Hook lay dead. Stabbed in the back by a sword. Wendy's sword. The one he had given to her on their first trip to Neverland. On deck, the terrible green potion lay seeping into the wood of the Jolly Roger close to Hooks lifeless hand. Worst of all, Peter had unfortunately downed almost half of the vile contents. The scary thing was, it seemed so tempting when Hook held it to his lips. It smelt sweet and alluring. For a few seconds he wanted the rest of it. Then he remembered the ripping feeling. Thankfully he noted that the ripping feeling had died when Hook was out of the picture. Luckily that feeling stopped Peter from taking another taste of the sweet potion. He still felt as if something was missing. But what?

"Peter..." He heard a voice whisper. He acted as if he heard nothing. Wendy looked up and searched his Blue-green eyes as they rapidly scanned the deck. Clearly lost in his own train of thought. She knew Peter had not witnessed a drop of what happened on the deck. Once Hook fell, and she got a clear view of Pete, she saw that his eyes and ears were blocked from what was going on. So him opening his eyes to such a devasting aftermath must have been quite the challenge. "Peter. " She said a little louder to try to capture his attention. This time, Peter's head snapped down so they could meet eye to eye. She pushed herself up from Peter's lap and sat beside him "We should go now."

Wendy and Peter both stood from their spot. Just as they were about to leave the Jolly Roger, Peter turned his attention to the remaining pirates with a serious expression, trying all he can not to take a deep breath . He had a terrible feeling that if he did, the tears building up in the corners of his eyes would surely spill.

"The fairy counsel told me once that I was the reason you are here... and that it is my will that holds you in Neverland... so..." He finally took that deep breath and to his dismay, a stray tear slid don his cheek. "I am allowing you all to leave. I expect the ship out of view in two days." He said in a stern voice.

"B-but w-what good 's a pirate ship with outta Cap'n?" Smee stuttered as he approached Peter. Peter smiled and rested a hand on Smee's shoulder. He sure admired his loyalty. Of course that could be counted as sarcasm now that Hook was dead.

"Who ever said this had to be a pirate ship?" He laughed despite how he really felt."You never did cross me as the pirate type anyway." Smee nodded in agreement. Hook was no longer around to tell him what to do. If he wanted to give it up, It was now his decision. Wendy crossed the deck and took Peter's hand.

"Lets go home." She said. Peter nodded in agreement. He jumped into the air, thinking of any happy thought he could come up with, only to come crashing back down onto the deck. "Peter are you all right?" Wendy ran over to Peter. His face held an expression of pure panic.

"No... no... I'm not!... I can't... I..."

"You can't what!" Wendy shook him a bit to try and get an answer out of him.

"I... I can't fly!" Wendy stood over Peter and offered him a hand. He completely ignored her offer. "Why can't I .. Why!" Wendy herself was scarred for him. Not knowing why his flying ability was lost.

"Calm yerself master Pan." Peter heard another comforting voice from above him. He looked up to see the voice belonged to Smee. "T'e Potion Cap'n Hook gave ye drained it." Once again a wave of dizziness hit Peter. Smee knew that comment probably only added to the problem, but he wanted to offer the panic stricken boy a clear answer. In all honesty, he felt bad for having a big part in making the potion. He held no personal grudges against Peter. He was just a kid who like to mess with his captain. Nothing to try and kill him over. Peter's hand clawed at the wooden deck. He could no longer fly . That's what was ripped. That's what was gone forever.

Finally, Wendy gave up trying to help Peter to his feet. Of course she fully understood. He had just lost something very dear to him. It was best to leave him in peace. But now she wondered how they would get home.

"We need a way to get to shore. Can you help us?" Wendy asked Smee. The other pirates exchanged worried glances. Wendy didn't entirely blame them. She did just single handedly kill their captain as well as a few members of the crew in her way. Smee cleared his throat and turned to the other pirates.

"Well, ye heard t'e lass! Jukes take t'e wheel. Mullins, hoist the sail! Let's get them t'e shore!"

And with that, the boat was headed straight for the mainland. Wendy stood at the very head of the boat the whole time. Letting the soft breeze play with her hair. She watched as the stars above her seemed to blink out one by one with the coming of the sun. That's right, it only took one night. By the afternoon, Wendy fainted, brought to her own bed.With the Lost boys and Peter asleep, She woke up at night, only to fall into a trap. She nearly drowned in the Neverland sea shortly after. Then Peters brave rescue. Shortly after Peter himself was captured, fallen prisoner of a cruel game. Then, just before the sun was about to rise, Hook was dead. She stared at the crown of the sun popping up behind the mountains and dark grey clouds began to fog the sky. All in one night, everything had changed... That in itself amazed her. She wondered if t amazed Peter too.

She suddenly felt a presence lean on the ship railing beside her. Peter stood silently next her. Quitely scanning the mainland. Wendy put her warm hand over Peters' freezing cold ones. A small flicker of a smile appeared on his lips. And they stayed like that until they felt the front of the ship slowly hit the sand on the beach. A ladder was dropped for them to exit. Peter took one last good look at the pirates or as he hoped, ex-pirates. Wendy and Peter lingered on the beach a bit longer as they witnessed the pirates preform a proper burial for Hook and their fallen crew at sea. At that, all Peter did was bow his head. He bowed his head to a great pirate and an even greater enemy.

----

Peter and Wendy walked hand in hand through the half light Neverland woods. Neither of them said a word the whole way. For them both it was a rather uncomfortable situation. There was nothing really that had to be said. Neverland was almost in ruin. The earthquake that occurred pulled up many root and threw around the dirt making travel difficulty. Many of the trees died, and the ones that didn't, were in an extremely poor condition. Most of them had fallen in the direct path of the underground home. It was almost a sickening sight to see what used to be such a paradise now in such a wreck.

After a long journey through the woods, they finally arrived at Hangmans tree. Thankfully, it was still in one piece. Upon entering the house, they found the Lost boys all huddled up under their overturned table, shielding each other for protection. They obviously felt the impact of the earthquake, seeing as the room was a mess. She was able to convince the boys that the storm was over so she could tell them all that happened. Out of all of them, Tinkerbell was the most shocked over how she could let such a thing happen when she was the one who was to watch over Peter.

Peter was of course distraught over having his most beloved power taken from him. Wendy understood when he just muttered a goodnight to the Lost boys and went into his room. Wendy stayed up though to clean the house and bandage up a few of the Lost boys who were hurt due to the earthquake. After that, she too went to bed, trying to block out the suns rays as it slipped into the cracks in the wall. Everyone woke up late the next afternoon in a sullen mood. Even at such a late time for breakfast, Wendy woke up and prepared the boys a beautiful breakfast to try to cheer everyone up. No matter how good Wendy's breakfast smelled, none of them could get over the fact that their home was in its worst condition yet. Not to mention Peter wasn't in his best either. So not a drop of the food was touched.

"Cheer up everyone!" Wendy said as she forced a smile onto her lips. The boys didn't respond. "There has to be something we could do." She said in a hopeful voice.

"How?" Slightly responded with no hope at all.

"Well..." She put her hand under her chin in thought. " I'm sure we could plant new trees... and maybe flatten out the dirt. But it will take a while..." She was actually very satisfied with the plan she came up with. if everyone pitched in to help, Neverland could turn back to its old self in no time.

"Do you think that will really work?" Curly jumped in.

"We have to try something right?" Immediately all of the Lost boys faces brightened "After you eat breakfast, why don't you all go out with Tink and see what you can do!" Before Wendy could even finish her sentence, the Lost boys were shoveling the food into their mouths so they could get outside fast enough to do something to salvage their home. In a matter of seconds, every plate was clean ,except for Peters, and the Lost boys were no where to be seen.

Peter still sat in his seat, just staring down at his full plate. He didn't even take one bite. Wendy would have thought at the sound of helping rebuild Neverland he would have brightened up. Wendy stood at the side of Peters chair and leaned down so they were at eye level.

"Smee returned the spell book before you woke up...Said he didn't want it falling into the wrong hands again." Peter responded with a weak nod. Wendy was thankful that he was at least listening. Wendy stood and retrieved the book of forbidden curses from the nightstand near the Lost boys bed. She set the heavy leather bound book on the boys lap and pressed a quick kiss on the tip of his nose. "We'll fix this... I'll do all I can." Peter finally looked up at her with tired eyes, making her wonder if he got any sleep at all that night.

"How?... " He asked in a hushed voice.

"Well the book is first. Last night Tinkerbell told Nibs that at your wish, the book is to be destroyed."

"Why was it even created in the first place?" Peter said to know one in particular. Just caught up in his own thoughts again.

"Maybe Tinkerbell will know." She took Peters hand in hers and began to lead Peter out of the house. She lead Peter back through the woods as they searched for the Lost boys whereabouts. Of course the whole time, Peter thought flying over the island would make the search a lot more easier. But that was a thing he had to try to put in the past for now. In the light, Neverland only looked worse then the other night.

Peter and Wendy finally found said party in a large grove filled with trees that had toppled over in the earthquake. Along with them, various Indians had come along to help the cause. Many chopping fallen trees into smaller pieces and hauling them off for better use. Other were looking for new tree seeds to replant. The Lost boys busied themselves with trying to clean up some other debris. One thing had made Peter smile. The fact that everyone in Neverland cared enough to try to do everything they could to help. Hovering above them all, Tinkerbell was surveying the activity. Peter loudly cleared his throat to gain her attention. Wendy thought it best to leave them to talk. She ran to help Tigerlily carry some wood back to the Indian village.

Peter gave Tinkerbell a rather harsh look. Almost a look that told her he blamed her for the books creation. Even though he knew that wasn't true. But he did want badly to know the truth.

"Why was this book created?" He asked her through his clenched teeth. "Was someone trying to intentionally harm me?" Peter shouted so loudly that the people working in the area turned to stare for a second. Tinkerbell tried all she could to quite him but him being naturally stubborn, he continued to yell. Simply, she resorted to yelling back.

"It was created in your best interests!" Finally, Peter was silenced. The answer confused him. How could something that brought so much harm to him be in his best interest?

"What do you mean?" Tinkerbell found a resting spot on Peter's shoulders. Thankful that he stopped yelling.

"When you were first brought to Neverland, the fairy counsel wasn't all to trusting of you. They were afraid of giving a young human boy so much power." Tinkerbell sighed. "So... They created that book. Its purpose was that if you got out of hand, the potion would then be created and made to drain that power. That way we could send you back to England so you could live normally." Peter looked over at her. He didn't know that he was ever not trusted by the fairies.

"So... Why was I even brought here if I wasn't trusted?" He asked.

"Neverland needed a Prince. An owner. That owner was to be a child who still believed in us and in all of Neverland well beyond the expected age. At first they didn't like the idea, but they themselves could not rule Neverland alone. It needed the imagination of a child."

"... If you all began to trust me after awhile... Why did you keep the book?"

"We did trust you... That's why we hid the book, so it could never be used." Tinkerbell averted her gaze down to her toes. "Unfortunately... It wasn't hidden well enough."

"So now what?" Peter yelled, gaining back some of his anger. Mostly at Tinkerbell's unclear answer. " Do I just stay like this! Does Neverland stay like this?"

"No...Now we wait."

Peter hated waiting.

----

By nightfall, Neverland was looking better already. Along with the Indians help, the Lost boys were able to gain the alliance of the mermaids to help by cleaning the Lagoon. Most of the fallen trees had been cut and stored away in the Indian village for firewood use. The Lost boys alone found two whole bags of tree seeds to replant in places where there used to be ones. Peter helped for a little while before Wendy saw he was getting tired and sent him back to Hangmans tree to sleep. That night, Wendy and the Lost boys traveled home satisfied with their accomplishments.

That same night, Peter had a dream. He was once again standing in the middle of the Jolly Roger. A place he now feared. That sweet smelling potion pressed to his lips. The smell deceived his senses. The cursed potion told his senses that it was just as good as its comforting smell. So this time, he swallowed all of it. Every single last bit. It was as if his devastation doubled. The ripping feeling was worse then ever. He scrunched his body together to try to stop the pain. The ground around him gave a might tremble before finally shattering into a million tiny pieces. Like some antique vase or something. In the distant horizon, the land was too being devoured in darkness. Along with it, Peter was being swallowed by the darkness. Then he saw the face of Wendy and it disappeared as fast as it came. Then he realized... The dream wasn't about him... It was about her... Something was wrong with her.

"Peter! Wake up!" He opened his eyes to see a worried Wendy standing over him, shaking him feverishly. "Are you alright?" She asked as she put a hand to his forehead. "You were screaming in your sleep." Peter shook his head no

"Are you alright?" He asked the question back. Wendy didn't know what to say. She did still feel sick, but with all this going on she really didn't want to alarm Peter. Through all of this, she wanted to be everyones ray of hope. So she lied.

"Yes Peter. I'm fine." She hated herself for lying.

"I sense a change... A big one." Wendy put a comforting hand on Peter back and began rubbing in circles, secretly hopeing she was making the right choice by not telling him.

A/N - I hope that was a good chapter Two more, yay! I hope to get them up soon. I already finished writing them. But my computer has some problems and is going to be rebooted. So I'm not sure how fast I can do that. I have to try to save all of my crap that's on here.


	18. Peace

**A/N -** Whoo. I had fun last night. I Went to see the play Beauty and the Beast. It was really spectacular. The guy who played the Beast in human form was really ugly though XD But the guy who played as Gaston looked, sounded, and sung the exact same way the Disney character did! Me and my mom were laughing at him the whole time saying how much I'm like a female version of Gaston (I love myself XD) Anyway, enjoy chapter 18.

**Sickness of the Heart**

**Chapter 18- Peace**

By the next day everyone had settled back into their normal routines. However, a _'normal' _routine in Neverland consisted of waking up, eating, helping with repairs, and finally bed. Quite a monotonous routine but for now it was the way things had to be. The Indians had made the suggestion that today the kids should take a break from working. They figured such strenuous work might have been to much on them. While they slept, the Indians stayed up to work on repairs such as replanting trees. The mermaids also worked around the clock on cleaning up the waters and the land around the lagoon.

Wendy woke up before the Lost boys did. She wanted time alone to survey the land and ultimately see what lay ahead for them. She walked down the weather beaten path, waving to the redskins as she passed by. She stopped once she felt the warm sand squirm its way between he empty spaces in her toes. In the distance she spotted the Jolly Roger. By now the ship was a mere speck among the purples and deep oranges of the colorful sunrise. Wendy was willing to bet that by the afternoon the ship would probably completely fade amongst the vast ocean. Smee and the rest of the crew would finally have freedom. They would be where they belonged in no time at all, her old home. She took a deep breath of the salty ocean winds. She wished with all her heart that she had asked Smee to find her family, only to tell them that she was ok. Something inside told her that they were not worrying for her, so it was best not to dwell on that subject.

She slowly made her way to the waters edge, letting the waves wash over her feet. The reflective blue water served almost a crystal clear mirror. Wendy looked down at herself, half in surprise and half troubled by her appearance. It was almost as if a different person looked up at her. Or maybe it was the fact that she had not looked at herself in a long time. Her pale skin seemed almost transparent with noticeable bruises scarring her once perfect complexion. She was obviously a lot thinner then she was back home She swished her foot around in the water a bit to drown out her wretched reflection. All this time Peter told her she was beautiful. That phrase escaped his mouth at least once a day. Either he took no notice to the side effects of her illness, or he hid himself comfortably behind a fabrication.

She gave up on fighting the reflection of the girl who stared back up at her. Figuring it was for the best, she decided to head back up the trail. When she stepped back into the underground home, the boys were all just waking up, rubbing their tired eyes.

"Have a good sleep boys?" She asked, falling right back into her motherly position.

"Great... I'm hungry!" Curly immediately complained. Nibs came up behind him and slapped the back of his friends head lightly. "What?" Nibs just rolled his eyes and took his seat at the table. The rest of the boys quickly filled in the empty spots at the table and began their daily routine of fighting over who gets to fill their plates first. Wendy had given up complaining about this behavior long ago once she realized it made no difference. She looked down to the other side of the table to Peter seat which was currently empty.

"Where's Peter?" She turned to Slightly. He had already stuffed his face with eggs. Careful not to be rude by opening his mouth, he just shrugged. Almost as if on cue, Peter emerged from his room. For the first time in a long time, he was smiling brilliantly. As he sat down at the table, he greeted them all with a cheery hello and immediately began to chow down on his breakfast in front of him. Wendy watched him with one of her eyebrows raised in the air.

"Someone is awfully happy this morning." She crossed her arms and waited for Peter to respond. He only noticed that Wendy was addressing him when the whole room went silent. He looked up at her with a little food hanging from his mouth. Once he was able to swallow, he smiled up at her.

"Want the good new first or the bad news?" Peter practically said threw a fit of giggles. Maybe it was from not having happy news in such a long time that even if there was bad news, the good news was appreciated. Well... after the bad new, the good news would be there to cheer everyone up so...

"Bad first."

"Well, Cadoc and Arien have-"

"Who?" Wendy interrupted.

"They are the leaders of the fairy counsel, the king and queen remember?" Once Peter earned a nod from Wendy he continued. "They have summoned me for an important meeting." Peter looked a little sullen about the bad news. No doubt the fairies wanted to discuss all that's happened. The things Peter thought were better left in the past.

"What's so bad about a meeting?" Wendy asked.

"The fairy counsel doesn't summon me all to much but when they do, it's usually bad news." Wendy suddenly became uninterested in her own food and pushed it aside to give Peter her full attention. Truthfully her appetite hadn't been all to good lately.

"So, what's the good news Peter?" The Twins asked, growing impatient when both Peter and Wendy fell silent. Peter's smile crept back onto his face.

"The good new is that the fairy counsel is going to help rebuild Neverland!" The Lost boys all hopped up from their seats, cheering, clapping and yelling. "They're going to start tonight!" The fairy counsel had the most powerful kind of magic, as shown in the Neverland spell book. With them fixing it up, Neverland was bound to look even better then it did before.

By the time breakfast was finished, everyone was anxiously waiting for Peter to leave the sanctuary of their home to go meet with the fairies. Everyone wanted to know what the true bad news was. Peter on the other hand took his slow sweet time about leaving. Unlike the others, who were getting very impatient, he felt like the complete opposite.

Wendy decided not to wait around for Peter to leave and traveled back down to the waters edge of the beach. At least she was able to smile about something. The ship, like she predicted, was completely out of site.

----

Finally the Lost boys were able to push Peter out of the house with Tinkerbell gliding closely behind. He knew he would have to tell the fairy counsel everything that happened. Normally, he was a fabulous story teller and loved them all the same, but telling this story would mean reliving such events. A nervous lump was growing in the back of Peter throat. Never had a walk taken so long, yet take no time at all. He wished that instead of walking toward the fairies grove, he was walking from it, having already told them all they needed to know and them having forgot to tell him whatever bad news they had.

Tinkerbell let out a her normal high pitched whistle to alert the fairies that they had arrived. Just like the last time, a hole appeared in an old weeping willow tree. From it the blond haired fairy queen rested against the wall of the tree, wearing a soft but tired smile. Cadoc came up beside her and bowed deeply. He too looked worn out. Peter shuffled nervously, waiting for them to ask that question '_What happened?'_ ...

and waited...

and waited...

Strangely, it didn't come. Cadoc and Arien exchanged a quick whispered conversation before turning to Peter. Peter flinched, knowing now that it was coming for sure this time.

"We are very sorry for your loss Peter. Truly we feel horrible about it." Cadoc spoke in a soft voice. Peter's head dropped. Then he quickly looked back up at them again.

"Wait... How did you know that I-"

Arien quickly put up her hand to silence him. "We already know what happened. Just like you, we know when things go wrong. We thought it would be best not to have you look back on said events"

"I awoke in the middle of the night feeling as if something had gone wrong concerning you. Looking further into it, Tinkerbell alerted me that it was your flying ability that was lost." Cadoc finished. Peter's lips formed an _'oh'_

"Can I get it back?" He asked while trying to look hopeful. The fairy counsels faces didn't look all as hopeful as his. As he noticed this, his face fell too. "There isn't a way is there?" The fairies shook their heads. "... Is this the bad news?" Peter asked. Something inside made him hope this was the bad news. Unfortunately, the fairies once again shook their heads. "There's more?"

"It's concerning Wendy." Why did it seem as if every time Wendy's name was mentioned now a days Peter's blood seemed to have taken a trip to Antarctica and back? His whole body froze over. The bad news was about Wendy... He didn't want to hear it... Didn't want to hear it... But they were going to tell him anyway. He just knew it. Peter did the only thing he could do, sit there and listen as the fairies told him everything. They had been secretly making observations about Wendy and her illness. The fairies told Peter one good drop of information... well, not good but useful. After hearing the news, Peter bid the fairies farewell and turned to leave for home.

----

Wendy stood in the same spot she was standing in earlier that morning. This spot had become her thinking spot. It was perfect, with the nice breeze, the view. It made her feel a sense of numbness. A welcoming numbness. She closed her eyes and let herself become lost in her thoughts. Most of her thought had absolutely no connection to one another. They just wandered wherever they wanted and most of them were unimportant anyways. Suddenly she sensed another standing beside her. Opening one eyes just enough, she saw Peter standing next to her, his eyes closed as well.

"So..." Wendy said a bit uncertain. "Whats the news?"

Peter took in a deep breath. "I'll tell the good first." Peter decided not to give a choice on this one. He still needed to get up the courage to tell the bad. "Well... They know why your sick." Wendy cheered mentally. She had been wanting an answer to this question for a long time, but no doctor had been able to give it to her a straight one.

"Well!" Wendy said impatiently. As it seemed that Peter had tried to get lost in his own thoughts again or perhaps he wanted to avoid something.

"It's called '_Sickness of the Heart'_. Its a disease that is meant to drain a person physically until..." Peter stopped as his voice quivered at the last word. "... Certain people are meant to stay in Neverland, while others aren't. You were supposed to stay. You got it...because you went home. Whenever you thought of Neverland... or thought of me, the Sickness drains your strength. A lot of your strength is gone... but..."

"But what?" Wendy pushed on. Somehow, she didn't like where this was going.

"But you can get it back if,and only if, I bind you to me...whatever that means..." Peter sighed. One thing he hated was riddle. To him, the new problem seemed like one big riddle "But if we find a way to do that, there will be side effects yes, but you will finally be safe and thats all that matters to me!"

"And if we don't" Wendy tried to looked Peter in the eye. Instead of just letting her, Peter kept averting his gaze away from her.

----

Ever since Wendy was a little girl, her mother would always tell her that there was an answer to evrything if you thought hard enough. An answer to every problem. No matter how bad the situation if you looked hard enough there was something. Knowing she had to listen to her mothers words and stay true to them, she hurried back to the underground home. The second she was in the door she went into the privacy of her room and paced the floors.

back and forth...

"There's always an answer..." She bit down on her bottom lip as she looked around the room for that answer. "Always something..." She repeated. Finally her eyes rested on her dresser. More specifically what was on top of the dresser. A beautiful blue satin jewelry box with a silver rose ever so carefully embroidered into it. "There it is." Wendy said confidently to herself.

"Oh Peter." Wendy sung with a smile on her face. Peer sat in the main room facing the fireplace. He too was probably trying to come up with a way to bind Wendy to him.

"Hmm?" Peter still didn't look at Wendy.

"I think I have an answer!"

**A/N **- Well, the last chapter is it. Goodbye to this story forever. Makes me sad, but happy at the same time

Oh well, off to bed with me now... well, not really. I'm going to delay sleep to draw a bit.


	19. Indescribable

**A/N -** Sorry it took me so long to post this, but my computer needed to be reformatted badly. So many viruses it wasn't even funny. After that, a ton of things happened leading up to me getting a brand new monitor. Then I went to a local fair and came home feeling horrible. I guess that's what I get for going on the ring of fire about fifty times in a row XD But it was fun. The bad news is that this is indeed the last chapter. It all ends here (Dun dun dun!)

Enjoy

**Sickness of the Heart**

**Chapter 19 - Indescribable**

**The Final Chapter**

_' Why does it take girls fifty years just to get ready?'_ Peter sighed as he waited by the fireplace. His knees drawn in and his head resting in the crevice between them. The whole house was annoyingly empty. As the moon came out from it's hiding place, the Lost boys went outside to play in it's cool light. Seeing it only fit to send Tinkerbell along with them. They had a bad habit of getting into the worst sorts of trouble. Tinkerbell always saw an end to that. He wished he could have been outside with them, Probably exploring and making up some sort of silly childish adventure. Something was very calming about the nighttime. He loved to play under the moonlight, completely cloaked by the darkness. Sadly, that was not happening tonight. Wendy had told Peter she had a plan. A plan to keep her alive. For that, Peter would gladly sit alone for an eternity.

Wendy never told him exactly what her grand master plan was. She herself wasn't all to sure if it would even work. She quickly ran from her room and told him to sit tight because she had a plan. After that she darted right back into her room, The hours seemed to drag slowly on as Peter's eyes fell hypnotized on the roaring flames. His eyes dropping every now and then. He had gotten up a few times just to try to draw Wendy out of her room. Every time she had told him just a few more minutes and he would have to go back to sitting and waiting.

To Peter, time didn't exist. Heck, to all of Neverland, time didn't exist. Yet Wendy seemed to be measuring it all the time. Maybe he had become afraid of time... Maybe that reason was Wendy. The fact that in the past year time seemed against her. He wished she would hurry. To much time alone gave him way to much time to think.

Wendy rushed around her room frantically. She just wanted everything to be absolutely perfect. This really meant a lot to her, It was not only a way of keeping herself alive, but something that could change her life. In the world she came from, it was sign of maturity. You leave all that was childhood behind and commit yourself completely to someone else. She wanted Peter to be surprised and love it all the same. Mostly, she wanted him to love her. She hoped it would be a pleasant surprise to him. Taking a deep breath she looked down at herself. Her hair was tied tightly up in an elegant bun with a few sausage curls hanging over the edge to frame her heart shaped face. She fit her naturally thin waist into a corset, just to give herself some extra curves. To be honest, it was very loose on her. Possibly a result of her illness. She looked perfect though, just how she wanted. To top off her perfect look she wore her favorite dress. A crimson red ball gown with a low scoop back. The middle was brought in by a sash which tied in back as a bow. She swayed back and forth to watch the long sleeves swing around her. The last thing she did was stuff something into the back heel of her brilliant red slippers.

"Peter." She stepped into the fire lit glow of the main room to show herself. Peter lifted and eyebrow and tilted his head a bit. Looking much like a lost child at her fancy attire.

"What's all this?" It wasn't that he didn't think that she looked lovely, but he didn't understand why her plan required her to take so long to get ready. Compared to the way she was dressed, he felt almost insignificant. Just his normal pair of fairy made pants made up of entirely leaves. He had a thin strap of skeleton leaves holding them up over his left shoulder. His pan pipes and knife were buckled along his left side. Not to mention his slightly grungy complexion from years of tromping through mud and forest.

"It's my favorite dress. There are a lot of memories in it. I just wanted it to see one more memory be made."

"What memory would that be?"

Wendy put a finger to her lips in a silencing motion. "It's a surprise." She pulled a handkerchief out of a pocket in her dress and moved toward him with the handkerchief outstretched. Peter allowed her to wrap the handkerchief over his eyes without question and tie a big knot in back. Once she was done, she stood back and admired her work, holding three fingers in front of Peters face. "How many fingers am I holding up?" She asked rather playfully.

"How should I know?" Peter laughed.

"You wouldn't be lying to me now would you?" She said with a smile playing on her lips.

"Of course not!" And that was good enough for her.

Wendy gently laced his fingers with hers, urging him towards the steps. Peter slowly followed. Putting every drop of his trust into her guidance. He liked the feeling of being able to completely and fully put trust into someone else with no worries. For he knew she would never lead him anywhere bad.

She carefully lead Peter up the stairs, making sure he didn't trip on any. Peter soon felt the familiar night air and snapping twigs beneath his feet. He knew whatever Wendy had planned would work. Even though he knew not of her plan, he had a gut feeling that it was a good plan. Wendy was a very intelligent girl who could find a solution to almost anything. Be it her own problem or others. Now he just wished Wendy somehow found a way to stop him from tripping over his own feet!

She lead Peter slowly through the dark surrondings, making short comments along the way such as "Almost there" or "It's only a matter of time now." To her it was all so very exciting. Even with the moon so high in the sky it was impossible to see anything. The trees that still stood after the disaster were almost a dark black color, blocking out the moon. Not even her nose in front of her was visible. But she didn't need light to show her where she was going. She knew the way by heart. Besides the beach, this place was her favorite spot to go and think. She must have gone there a thousand times in the course of her stay.

Finally after what seemed like another eternity Wendy stopped and pulled the blindfold from Peter's eyes. He blinked a few times to rid himself from the previous darkness and looked around at his familiar surroundings. A less dense part of the forest that was surrounded by an abundance of tall thick grass. Past the long grassy area, the kids could see the gentle rising of smoke and flickering firelight coming from the Indian village not to far away. A light erotic beat of a drum was coming from the nearest teepee. Wendy stood facing Peter. In the background, a tall weeping willow before the moon with tiny fairies darting in and around it.

Peter pursed his lips together, his eyes were busy taking in all of the familiar sights.

"Remember this place?" Wendy turned from Peter with a nostalgic look in her eyes. She was admiring the moon the same way he was.

"Of course I do... How could I ever forget."

Wendy smiled. "We danced here." She approached Peter with a gleam in her eye. Peter must have noticed because he smiled in return. Wendy slipped her hand over Peter's bare shoulder and slid her other one into Peter's dangling palm. Soon they were in a perfect position to begin a dance.

"I-I've never danced on the ground before." Peter nervously stuttered as he realized what Wendy wanted to do.

"That's fine." Wendy replied. "This time, I'll be the leader." Peter still felt a little strange about dancing on the ground but he still trusted Wendy and was willing to giver her every once of his trust.

Once Peter nodded in agreement, he felt Wendy lightly leading him away from her, then drawing him back in. She moved her feet and hips to the beat of the pulsating drums in the background. Upon being pulled back in, Peter's left foot trampled over Wendy's . She drew back for a second in pain, then just laughed it off and continued to lead. After a couple more mess ups, Peter was beginning to get the hang of dancing while grounded. Soon the two were whirling and twirling just as if they were up in the air. Peter dipped Wendy low and lifted her up high leaving her breathless in the end. Wendy collapsed against the trunk of the tree laughing lightly.

"Wow..." She muttered, her chest heaving with excitement. Peter collapsed next to her, desperately trying to move into her field of vision.

"Was this your plan?" Peter asked once he was unable to catch her eye.

"Huh?" Wendy snapped back into the real world.

"This. Was this that plan you were telling me about?"

Wendy shook her head quickly. For a second, she had completely forgot that she even had a plan. She forgot everything around her. She was so caught up with the moment.

"No it's not... I... umm, it's just..." Wendy took a deep breath as she stood up. She slipped her hand into the back of her shoe and pulled out the thing she had previously hidden in it. Peter eyed Wendy suspiciously when she didn't respond for a little while.

"What is that?" Peter pointed tot he thing she was now attempting to hide behind her back (unsuccessfully of course).

"It's a..." Wendy turned sharply on Peter and held her possession safety in her fist. "Before you say no to my plan you must listen to me. I know this is against you and against everything you stand for, but this was the only thing I could think of. I just wanted you to like it and-" Peter quickly put his finger to her lips. She was saying way to much way to quickly. At this rate, he just barely understood a word she said.

"What is _'it'._"

Wendy let out another deep breath and opened her clenched hand.

"_'It'_ was my mothers." She said referring to the medium sized diamond ring with a gold frame placed perfectly on the palm of her hand. "She gave it to me not to long before I left."

"_'It's'_ a ring?"

"Not just any ring... it's... a wedding ring." Peter continued to stare in confusion at Wendy. Then he slowly began to back away. He looked almost nervous the second the word _'wedding'_ was mentioned. Before he was able to back up any further Wendy grabbed his hand. " I stalled at telling you because I was afraid that this may be your reaction."

"But this is grown up stuff, I mean... I can't-" Peter sighed in defeat. It was a wedding ring the sat before him. Wendy wanted to marry him! The shimmering ring sat in Wendy's outstretched palm seeming to mock Peter in every way possible. Wendy was right. This did go against everything he stood for. Only grownups got married. Would getting married mean he had to grow up? He shook his head. Of course not! He was purely doing this for Wendy.

"This ring will bind us in our hearts. You don't have to accept it, but it would mean a lot to-"

"I'll do it!" Peter shouted hurriedly. "I-I'll never grow up. That I know. I don't think some silly old ring will change that right? It won't change who I am right? So I'll do it!" Wendy took the ring from her palm and gently placed it on Peter's ring finger. Both stood there, literally holding their breaths, half expecting something amazing to happen. To their disappointment, nothing did.

"I think we need one more thing for this to work." Wendy said while inching a bit closer.

"What?"

Wendy's arm wrapped itself around Peter's waist. She tilted her head up so that she could feel his warm breath teasing her bottom lip. Both of their faces heating up and their hearts pounding out of their chest. His own arm was caressing the back of Wendy's head, slowly weaving his fingers into her hair. Their lips pressed sweetly together. It seemed like in that moment their senses of everything around them seemed heightened.

The strong flowery scent of her perfume.

His soft skin.

Their tingling lips.

Such an enormous tingling feeling that made Wendy gasp in surprise. Peter's tongue slid into her mouth. It was just an act of sudden passion, but it felt wonderful. A completely innocent kiss. She wanted to just completely melt right there in his arms or maybe stay like this forever... Yes, stay like this forever and ever. Sadly the moment came to an end when Peter pulled away. Gazing intently into Wendy's deep blue eyes.

"Do you think it worked?" He said still dazed over what just took place.

"I don't kno-AH!" She took a sharp breath as she gasped in pain. A sharp pain shot through Wendy's body. She kneeled down to resemble a small ball, gripping at her aching stomach to try to ease the sudden pain. She clawed into Peter's arm as he kneeled down beside her.

"What's wrong?"

Her muscle control suddenly dropped from her. "I feel... funny." She said before collapsing into his open arms. She closed her eyes, falling into an unconscious state. Her breathing was fair and even as if she were only sleeping. Her skin glowing in the moonlight. Suddenly, Peter didn't feel so great either. Once again he felt a ripping sensation. A similar feeling he had gotten when he was on Hooks ship on the eve of his death. Only this time it was way less intense. It wasn't as horrid as that night either. Almost like a numb burning. Strangely, he was ok with it.

He staggered back to his feet with Wendy still in his arms. He swayed with his first few steps, feeling dizzy and lightheaded. Luckily Wendy was as light as a feather in his arms. He grind his teeth in bitter determination. It was a long and dark walk back to the underground home without the use of flying but he knew he would make it.

----

The morning started out just like any other. The sun began to slowly rise over the snow capped mountains and wash away twilight. The underground home was comfortably warm. Just perfect for Wendy who was snuggled up in her nice warm bed with a pillow hugged close to her chest. The sun snuck in through a crack in the wood. A stream of sunlight hit her eyes, causing her to slowly open them. For a second she put her hand up to block the light, just long enough for her eyes to adjust.

Just like any other morning she pushed her blankets back and slid out of bed. But when her feet came in contact with the cold ground, something amazing happened. A pulsing vibe ran through her feet straight to her head. Definitely NOT like any other morning. An unexplainable sense of happiness washed over her being. It made her want to just jump up and laugh or shout. It felt as if she had a heightened sixth sense. She knew about every little thing going on around her. The strangest thing too, such as the little fly that was dying just under her nightstand and a new flower just popped up in some clearing on the island. She was able to shake off the weird feeling and continue with her normal morning routine.

Normally, mornings for Wendy were hectic. She had to prepare breakfast for seven hyper boys, along with checking them for injuries they may have gotten on the previous nights outing (They always had at least one that she needed to bandage up before they got a chance to go out and make it worse). Their talking alone was probably heard for miles around. Normally when she exited her bedroom she was immediately met with a wave of good mornings and hugs. Not today though. Actually, the house was completely empty.

"Nibs, Tootles, Slightly?" Wendy called out to the silence. "Peter... Anyone?" They couldn't have gone that far this early in the morning. She continued her way up the stairs and out of the house. Wendy had decided that in her long while she had been in Neverland that mornings were the most beautiful time of day. The sky looked as if a child took orange and yellow finger paints and was told to go crazy with it. Higher up in the sky you could still see traces of twilight. Purples and dark blues hung in the places the sun had not yet reached. The most beautiful part of this morning though was the fact that the sun was just below the trees creating a- WAIT! TREES? LOTS OF THEM!

Wendy spun around quickly to survey her surroundings. It was indeed true. Just last night the area around Hangmans tree was filled with almost no trees at all. The trees that were still there were slowly beginning to rot. But these ones were tall and beautiful. They held a ton of soft green colored leaves. Some even held little pink flowers with petals slowly falling off and drifting to the ground. It almost made it look like it was snowing! The ground beneath her feet was no longer disheveled dirt but thick bluegrass with white daisies scattered here and there. Last night the fairies had done what they promised Peter. The head fairies had indeed made Neverland more magical then it was before, just as everyone predicted. She was in total awe over all of this.

"Wendy?... Hey look there she is!" A voice called out.

"I told you she would wake up soon!"

The Lost boys stepped out from behind a flower bearing tree and came up to her unnaturally calm instead of their normal unruly behavior.

"What are you all doing out so early? You haven't even eaten breakfast yet!" She said with a giggle. The Lost boys exchanged smiled and faces that practically screamed _'we're hiding something.'_

"We have a surprise for you." Nibs said.

"Follow us Wendy!" Tootles giggled and grabbed her hand, pulling her through the woods.

It only took a short while for them to reach their final destination. Or maybe it was because the Lost boys were running so fast that it only took a short while. A clearing with a single tree stump in it. Standing atop that tree stump was none other then Peter Pan, smiling happily.

"Wendy." Peter said with a bow and a hand offering.

"Peter." Wendy curtsied and went to receive his hand. She noticed the hand Peter offered was the one that held her mothers Wedding ring. Just then, as she was walking through a storm of flower petals towards Peter, She realized that he was her husband. They were now married... But why did Peter have his other hand behind his back?

"What is all this?" She said once she finally reached him, thinking she sounded much like he had last night.

"Well, you surprised me. Now it's my turn." He smiled. "Oh, but you may need this first." Peter pulled his hand out from behind his back to reveal a gold crown with a satin red lining. No doubt stolen from Hook back when he was alive. "I think you should have it now." He said while placing it on her head.

"Why are you giving me your crown." She said while trying to balance the crown on her small head.

"Haven't you noticed?" Peter raised an eyebrow. "The senses you have... Feeling any stronger?... Anything like that?"

"Well yes but what does that-"

"My powers are gone?" Peter said, almost as if it pained him a little to say.

"What?"

"They're all yours now. That's what you were feeling last night. They were passing to you." Peter laughed to himself. It sounded to Wendy more like a nervous laugh. "Guess I'm no longer prince of Neverland without my powers right? So I'm giving my crown to you." Peter kneeled down before Wendy almost looking like he were at a knighting ceremony of some sort.

"This is... Unbelievable... " She muttered and somewhere in Neverland she sensed another flower blooming.

"Wendy..." Peter said in a very authoritative voice. "I hereby name you Wendy, Princess of Neverland!" The Lost boys cheered in the background while Wendy stood there awestruck. Tinkerbell zoomed in and immediately began chattering with Peter.

"Your not serious are you? This wench wouldn't know how to use these powers from her backside!" Tinkerbell fumed Wendy covered her mouth with her hand. She understood every word that passed the fairies lips. A feat she had not yet accomplished like the other children of Neverland.

"What did you call me?"

"Sorry Tink!" Peter laughed. "I can't understand you anymore. If you want to talk, it will have to be with Wendy. Looks like you two have to get along." Tinkerbell just turned sharply and darted off into the forest. The Lost boys followed behind to give Peter and Wendy some alone time.

"You can really never talk to her again." Wendy said in a sympathetic voice.

"I can talk to her through you can't I?" Wendy still didn't look happy. Peter turned to her and took her hands in his. "My powers have made you strong enough to live and that's all that matters to me."

"Yes but-"

"Now..." Peter interrupted. "What is your first act as Princess?"

"First act..." Well, Peter had lost all of his powers. She felt almost guilty. Like she had taken them away from him. Even through his smiling face, she knew he was sad abou looking them. Wendy smiled and glided her fingers across her chin. "My first act as princess is to treat you to something I'm sure you missed." She walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his torso just below his arms. "Ready?" She looked towards the orange sky.

"Ready when you are Princess Wendy." And with that Wendy jumped up just enough to catch wind. She felt so strong being the one caring Peter instead of being the one carried. Peter didn't mind being carried. He was too busy enjoying the much missed feeling of weightlessly being carried through the air.

The sky finally turned a light baby blue and the sun was at it's highest. The suns rays lightened the flower covered Island paradise that was Neverland. Once again it was a sanctuary for all who wish to not grow up and it always will be. It didn't matter that Peter was married. Having participated in that very adult like activity. All that mattered was that he was very much a child at heart. That's all you needed in Neverland was the innocent heart of a child and a carefree attitude. Finally Peter and Wendy were able to go back to having just that. So Peter let Wendy be his wings...

As all of Neverland watched them fly away...

---

Wow!

I have absolutely loved working on this story. Originally, this story was only going to be a ten chapter short story that was just going to be a side project while I wrote my other stories. After I saw how much people liked it and how far this story could go, I changed it a little to be longer and more action packed. I ripped many of my planning pages after chapter 5 and completely re wrote much of the story line.  
Many of the ideas I got for the new story line was inspired by reviews you all gave me. Someone would say, I wonder if blank was going to happen. So I'd write in a chapter based off of that idea with some differences.  
Originally, the story was not even going to include a detailed description of Mr. Darlings adventure in Neverland, But as you can see, it became sort of important since there were many refreces to it. I also wasn't going to include Peters dreams, but they too were important. Also, there was going to be an alternate ending in which Wendy died. Instead I decided to only have one ending to this story, and that ... is a happy one! I just couldn't write that ending it made me sad to think. Actually I cried more writing this ending a lot more then I think I would have if I wrote the sad one!  
So I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and helped me with this story. If it wasn't for the reviewers, this story seriously wouldn't be what it became!

So as sad as I feel to write this...

**THE END!**


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